


light-scattered

by Lamuerte



Series: light-borne [4]
Category: Destiny (Video Games), EXO (Band)
Genre: Byun Baekhyun-centric, IN SPACE!, M/M, OT12 (EXO), Sequel, also big spoilers for light-borne, everyone knows things but baekhyun, ft. Park Chanyeol, long af, no beta we die like men, sequel to light-borne, you don't need to know anything about destiny to read, you should probably read that but also written in a way so you don't have to
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:22:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 51,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25145386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lamuerte/pseuds/Lamuerte
Summary: Baekhyun is a Guardian from the Last City who thinks life is a lot of play and very little work. The Light is a pretty awesome superpower, after all.The Darkness begs to differ.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol, Byun Baekhyun/Wu Yi Fan | Kris, Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Kim Jongin | Kai, Huang Zi Tao | Z.Tao/Oh Sehun, Kim Minseok | Xiumin/Lu Han
Series: light-borne [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1730800
Comments: 100
Kudos: 61





	1. i, baekhyun byun, being of sound(ish) mind and body

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO!
> 
> if you already read light-borne: hey baby ;)
> 
> if you haven't read light-borne: THIS IS YOUR CONTEXT. In a faraway future, Humanity made contact with a strange moon they called the Traveller, which propelled us into a Golden Age of space colonisation and scientific advances. We lost it all in a large apocalypse we call the Collapse, in which a strange force called the Darkness "killed" the Traveller. The Traveller sacrificed itself, and created Ghosts, little drones that choose dead humans at random to revive them with no memories, and make them immortal and give them superpowers.
> 
> Guardians can be Titans (brawn), Warlocks (brains), or Hunters (lit af). They can use three types of power: Arc (blue), Void (purple), and Solar (orange).
> 
> Their enemies can be: Fallen (four-armed creatures who were once graced by the Traveller), Cabal (Spartan space rhinos), Hive (worms with exoskeletons and lots of screeching), Vex (evil robots), or Taken (all of the above BUT WORSE).
> 
> THIS FIC BEGINS AT THE END OF THE RED WAR: where a faction of Cabal called the Red Legion invaded the Last City of Earth, trapped the Traveller, and took the Light from Guardians, only to have it taken back by EXO. Baekhyun, who was not a Guardian, sacrificed himself to stop a very large Cabal ship (the Almighty) from eating our Sun.

**i. i, baekhyun byun, being of sound(ish) mind and body**

Baekhyun woke up slowly, making a sound of discontent as he did.

His body felt stiff from where he had curled up into a ball in the co-pilot’s seat, a crick on his neck from his head just hanging down. At least, he was covered by a scratchy blanket he didn’t remember having when he must’ve fallen asleep. That was nice.

“Morning.”

Baekhyun startled at the sudden, deadpan voice, and turned to the side quickly –much more awake now— only to find a handsome man with a sharp jaw and black hair smirk at him in amusement. Baekhyun relaxed with a sigh, because it was a _sort of_ familiar sight.

“Sehun,” He croaked out, letting his head drop back on his chair, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. “You scared me.”

Sehun. Sehun was nice, if a little unreadable.

Sehun Oh was a Hunter, just like Baekhyun. When they had met –or met again, depending on how you looked at it— the day before, Sehun had been pleased to make a note of this. It meant Baekhyun and Sehun had a lot of things in common— a penchant for stealth and precision, being daring and rebellious, blazing their own trails, and writing their own laws. That’s what Vivi, Sehun’s Ghost, had said at least. Even if Sehun was a Nightstalker and Baekhyun was a Gunslinger, Sehun was excited to have a kindred spirit.

Baekhyun began stretching, yawning unabashedly. To be honest, he was also excited to meet Sehun. There was something about the Nightstalker that made Baekhyun trust him implicitly, as evidenced by not being that worried about waking up in this unfamiliar ship on his own, with just Sehun as company. They just hadn’t had any one-on-one time, really, with how fast things had happened from when they had found each other.

In fact, now that Baekhyun thought about it—

“You fell asleep the second you sat,” Sehun could probably read the confusion writing itself on Baekhyun’s expression, because he was explaining before Baekhyun could even mention it. “Chanyeol didn’t let us talk for five hours. I was so bored. What did you even do last night to be this tired?”

“I mean,” Baekhyun drawled, because it was a bit obvious. As in, glaringly so. “We did each other’s hairs.”

Baekhyun liked his deep black hair much, much better, especially since he had naturally shaggy hair. He looked untamed and wild. It suited him immensely, in his opinion, and his opinion was probably the most important one. And although Chanyeol’s brassy blond mullet had been a look for the ages, honestly, what a man, ten out of ten, Baekhyun was very much into the Titan’s shorter, dark red hair. It gave him an element of danger, an edge, a physical attesment to the fire Chanyeol had running through his veins. Also, it was hot as fuck.

“Yes, I noticed how you copied me,” Sehun countered, gesturing to his own very black hair boredly. “And one of us is gonna have to change. But anyway— since you apparently looked way too cute to be disturbed, Chanyeol said he’d handle Hendery and meet us later. I’ll be your keeper for now, introduce you to the Vanguard and all that. Hunters gotta stick together.”

Baekhyun took this information in slowly, nodding in agreement until he realised Chanyeol had taken Hendery without telling him. The classless Guardian was very defenceless and Baekhyun had sort of adopted him— he had even picked out his name. Sehun, once more, was quick to respond.

“Don’t make that face, Baekhyunnie,” Sehun chided, snorting. “Hendery was very antsy once we got close to the City. He looked really sick, and he totally regretted coming, even if his Ghost kept telling him ‘this is where you are meant to be, my child’.” His imitation of Hengwai’s voice was on point, at least. “So Chanyeol’s just taking him to Xiumin and making sure he’s okay.”

Baekhyun could understand that. It had been a bit overwhelming— Baekhyun coming into terms with being a Guardian, learning that there was only one City in the whole of the Solar System, understanding the Traveller, running into the family and friends he had lost, realising the world could end very soon. He, too, felt a bit sick when he thought about for longer than two minutes.

“Oh,” Baekhyun intoned, concerned for the young boy. After all, he had left the Last City because it was _too loud_ for him. “I hope he’s alright. Uhm, you said we’re meeting with the Vanguard?”

Now that Baekhyun was more aware of his surroundings, he realised Mongryong and Vivi were chatting animatedly right outside the City Hawk, giggling to themselves. Mongryong seemed to be really friendly with all the Ghosts they had encountered, with the exception of Hengwai. It was cute to see. Baekhyun could only hope he integrated just as well.

“Yeah,” Sehun acknowledged. “You remember who they are?”

“I mean… Mongryong’s explained that they’re our leaders?” Baekhyun tried, scrunching up his nose as he ran a hand through his hair. “And Chanyeol said it was Suho, Xiumin, and the Kris Wu.”

Sehun smirked a little, amused, but his tone remained as flat as always. He had a talent for that. “Well, Suho’s the leader, so, he’s probably gonna give you a very passionate speech about the Vanguard. I won’t bother. We’ll meet with ‘the Kris Wu’ now.”

“Why him?”

“‘Cause he’s the Hunter Vanguard,” Sehun answered. “Which is the worst job _ever_ , but he’s directly in charge of us— since we’re Hunters. Obviously. He’s a little high-strung, so don’t hold it against him when he freaks out when he sees you.”

“Why is it the worst job ever?” Baekhyun wondered first, and then pouted. “Why is he gonna freak out when he sees me?”

“I think I’ll just keep up the suspense for that second question,” Sehun teased, chuckling, then grew more serious. “But uh, Hunter Vanguard has a really fast turnover, I’d say. In the whole history of the Vanguard, there’s been like, I don’t know, six Vanguard Hunters? While there’s only been three Vanguard Warlocks, and two Vanguard Titans. All Hunters have either died or gone missing. It’s like a death sentence.”

Baekhyun’s eyes widened. He felt sick to his stomach, for some reason, hearing this. “Oh, shit. Must be cursed.”

“I think it’s because of how we are,” Sehun mused. “We’re supposed to be the wild cards, you know? Daredevils, cunning, badasses. We’re the first ones to go into dangerous situations that can get us killed. Also, we have a huge problem with authority.”

“Really?” Baekhyun hummed thoughtfully. “Was I like that?”

Sehun levelled him with a raised eyebrow and another playful, yet sweeter, simper. Baekhyun blushed a little.

“The first thing we ever did together was go to a haunted forest, in the middle of the night, all alone, without any Light on either of our parts, when it was infested with Fallen,” Sehun relayed, a muted giddiness to his words. “Because I had a vision that could _maybe_ help us out and you were like, ‘fine, I’ll go with you’. That is when we became friends.”

Baekhyun laughed earnestly.

“And the last thing you ever did was steal the job of dismantling the Almighty, _from me_ ,” Sehun accused, but he was growing more animated and smiling back at Baekhyun. “When I would’ve totally survived and you had very little chances of making it. And here you are! A Guardian now. Honestly, I pictured you so many times as a Guardian, I should’ve known you’d be a Hunter.”

“Aw, you’re so sweet!” Baekhyun crooned, which made Sehun laugh as well. “You’ll take care of me now, won’t you? As my senior… Hunter.”

“You can take care of yourself,” Sehun countered, but when he spoke again, he was kind and calm. Baekhyun thought for a moment that it was as if Sehun was relaxing, showing more expression now. “But yeah. Roles reversed. I’ll answer all the questions you have, now.”

Baekhyun tilted his head to the side, questioning. “I did that for you?”

Sehun nodded. “You did a lot to help me out. Before this war, most Guardians… I don’t know. We were all in our little worlds, I guess. And I haven’t actually been around for that long, tomorrow’s gonna be six months—”

“—We should celebrate,” Baekhyun interjected, only because Sehun was growing too solemn for his liking. Sehun smiled once more when he heard that.

“Definitely,” The Nightstalker readily agreed, and then continued with a sigh. “It was hard. I’m a seer. I get really intense visions from the Traveller, okay?”

“Okay,” Baekhyun conceded softly, trying to picture it. Hendery had mentioned visions, hadn’t he? Were all Guardians supposed to have them? He chose not to ask.

“The Vanguard we had wanted to make me a Speaker rather than help me, and I hated the idea.” Sehun continued. “I tried to get help from Warlocks, like Tao, but there’s only so much they could do.”

While Baekhyun had only experienced one vision, and he was pretty sure it wasn’t from the Traveller, he had the feeling they could be very encompassing. Maybe even isolating— especially if you couldn’t understand what they meant. It saddened Baekhyun to imagine Sehun like that. He really hoped it wasn’t a thing Guardians had to go through.

“It must be really hard.” He commented. Sehun hummed.

“Yeah, well, it’s not all that bad,” The man shrugged again, and gestured around, even if it was just the inside of Chanyeol’s City Hawk ship. “After all, I _did_ end up becoming the only Guardian with their Light back and killing Ghaul.”

“The Traveller’s Chosen,” Baekhyun said, and when Sehun stared at him, he rushed out: “Chanyeol called you that last night, when he was giving me a rundown of what had happened.”

The resistance had been all thanks to Baekhyun, Chanyeol assured him over and over again. The Titan’s eyes had been bright as he told Baekhyun of how the Gunslinger –back then, he called himself a scavenger, a word which tickled Baekhyun— had rescued a bunch of Guardians, Chanyeol and Sehun among them, and led them to his brother’s Farm. From there, he had accompanied them on a journey which took them from the Tangled Shore, Titan, Nessus, and Io, then back to Earth. Finally, Baekhyun had gone off to the Almighty, while the rest of their mötley crew headed into the Last City to retake it from the Red Legion. Baekhyun felt Chanyeol had left something out, but he hadn’t wanted to ruin their peaceful and light bubble they had created the previous night by questioning him about it.

“You called me that first,” Sehun admitted. “You were the only one who believed in me, at first. My first fan.”

There was a heavy pause, as Baekhyun took this all in.

“Sorry, Sehunnie,” Baekhyun chirped to lighten the mood. “You’re very handsome, but I’m gonna get Chanyeol to be my boyfriend or so Traveller help me.”

Sehun burst out into happy cackles then, high-pitched and surprised, which even got him to clap. Baekhyun laughed with him, because Sehun’s laughter was so unexpected it made him bubble up too.

Their cackles were so loud, that they attracted the attention of their Ghosts. Vivi and Mongryong floated inside the City Hawk, curious.

“Are you having fun without us?” Vivi teased.

“How rude!” Mongryong added happily.

“Like you guys weren’t having the time of your lives without us,” Sehun retorted, still snorting, and wiping a tear from his cheek. “No, I think Baekhyun just rejected me. Baekhyunnie, I have a boyfriend.”

Baekhyun gasped. “You do?”

“Yeah,” Sehun confirmed, and licked his lips. “It’s Tao. We’re not exclusive, but I’m not looking. You’re cute, though. Thanks for the interest.”

“No, thank _you_ ,” Baekhyun sing-songed obnoxiously, but Sehun just found it comical, for he began chortling once more. “Weren’t you supposed to take me to the Vanguard? We’ve been sitting here talking like the world can wait!”

“The world can definitely wait,” Sehun quipped. “What’s one or two apocalyptic events to us, anyway?”

“A lot,” Baekhyun deadpanned, but they burst into giggles and clapping and jokes once again, this time, their Ghosts joining in.

Yeah. Barring Mongryong, Sehun was bound to be Baekhyun’s first friend into this new life as a Guardian.

In order to find the Kris Wu –for some reason, Mongryong kept calling him _the_ Kris Wu and referring to him as his biggest enemy— Sehun had to lead Baekhyun through the most ruined parts of the Tower. While most of the rubble had been removed during the previous weeks, the silence as they crossed a bombarded Plaza was deathly. Still, it gave Baekhyun the perfect view of the Last City, and of the Traveller hovering over it.

The Last City was truly— immense. Baekhyun couldn’t quite make out the end of it, even if he squinted. Almost every building was either a skyscraper or well on its way to being one. The damage of the Red Legion’s invasion was apparent, however— some zones were completely obliterated, while other constructions were supported externally, big cranes and heavy machinery working around them. Some other parts were completely untouched. People were like ants from here.

But what really got Baekhyun’s attention, of course, hadn’t been the City.

He almost wished someone had woken him up before they had crossed the tall Walls of the Last City, so he could be prepared for— for this.

The Traveller was a moon— an almost perfect sphere, of a boney white, broken and damaged in many parts. These shards and debris gravitated around it as if someone could reach out and fit them back over its surface. The Light coming from it was apparent, creating somewhat of an atmosphere around the Traveller. If Baekhyun looked hard enough, his eyes tricked him, fooling him into imagining there was a whole city under the shell of the entity.

The Traveller was silent, but much like the Pyramid Baekhyun had discovered, its silence was terribly loud.

“Wow!” Mongryong exclaimed in amazement, from where he was floating by Baekhyun’s side. The black-haired Gunslinger hadn’t even realised he had leaned on the precarious railing of this Plaza, looking up, entranced. “The Traveller is almost perfectly round! I did not expect this!”

“What were you expecting?” Vivi asked, curious.

“A rhombicosidodecahedron, of course!” Mongryong replied, as if it was completely obvious. “The most complex geometric shape!”

“Why the fuck would the Traveller be a r—” Sehun cleared his throat before he could even make a fool of himself. “—the most complex geometric shape?”

“You know what? I totally get it.” Baekhyun was nodding, jutting out his bottom lip in consideration for this. “Because the Pyramid is a pyramid, and that’s just triangles put together, and triangles are the simplest geometric shape.”

“Precisely, Captain!” Mongryong said with delight, and Baekhyun offered his palm to the little light. Mongryong dropped into Baekhyun’s extended palm, as if tapping it. “High five!”

Baekhyun whooped, and then made his hand into a fist that he gently bumped against Mongryong’s kitbashed shell. Sehun and Vivi stared at them, then at each other.

“…I suppose,” Vivi acquiesced. “Uh, we should keep going.”

“In a minute,” Baekhyun dismissed plainly. “I’m— I’m basking. It’s an impressive sight. It feels— I don’t actually have words for it. Why didn’t you warn me it’d be like this? It’s beautiful. And it’s so, so, so _loud_.”

Sehun was suddenly patting Baekhyun’s holster harshly, and Baekhyun looked down to see the Ace of Spades starting to light up with blue flames that Sehun quickly put out. Baekhyun flushed and looked to the other Guardian with a sheepish grin. Oops. That was embarrassing.

“Did you say loud?” Sehun mercifully didn’t mention Baekhyun’s lack of control over his own trigger, instead furrowing his brow at Baekhyun.

“Well— yeah,” Baekhyun answered, raising a brow, because there was no way Sehun didn’t hear it. “I mean— not like a voice, or anything. It’s just energy. Like a humming.”

Sehun nodded, suddenly understanding.

“It’s been doing that since it awoke,” The Nightstalker stated. “But you’ll get used to it. It’s just its raw Light. Most people don’t even realise it. You must be a little more sensitive.”

Sensitive. Baekhyun contemplated this. He only hummed, but no— that wasn’t it.

At last, Sehun was able to pull Baekhyun away from the railing, and into the Tower itself. Its lobby was a mess, but eventually, the dilapidation of the structure gave way instead to cleaner halls, until they were up in another exposed plaza of sorts— this had some stalls with mercancy of all sorts, and people talking. There was the smell of food, and Baekhyun spotted a ramen stand. He wanted to stay more here, but Sehun kept dragging him, into a new hall, this one with pretty lamps and wind chimes hanging from the ceiling. The hall led into an interior garden with a large tree in the middle.

Baekhyun couldn’t take his off it as Sehun dragged him by the hand up a set of old-fashioned ceramic stairs. The Nightstalker snorted, but it was fond. “Everything’s surprising you, huh?”

“It’s just gorgeous,” Baekhyun revealed. “I wish we could just look at things more.”

“This is the part of the Tower we’ve been focused on fixing up, that’s why it’s so nice,” Sehun explained, not letting Baekhyun wander away as he took him across a bridge into open space. “This is the courtyard. We’re coming back here later, to talk to Suho. But we gotta get Kris soon.”

Sehun was taking him to— the hangar? Baekhyun frowned. “Didn’t we just come from the hangar?”

“That was the north hangar, and it’s out of commission,” Sehun told him. “The first few nights, we had nowhere to sleep, so we set up our ships there. It’s really peaceful. Chanyeol landed there out of force of habit.”

“When you saw _we_ ,” Baekhyun asked, “Who do you mean?”

Sehun’s eyes twinkled. “You’ll meet them. Don’t worry about it now. Now, do me a favour and put your helmet on. It won’t be weird, I promise. Hide behind me, okay? And don’t say a word.”

When Baekhyun realised that Sehun was being mischievous rather than protecting him from something, he acquiesced easily, sliding his smooth helmet over his head. It was all black, with a white ‘X’ in the middle. Baekhyun wondered what it meant, if anything at all.

This hangar was a far cry of the one they had landed in. Though it was still clearly under construction, it was lively, filled with people and robots working side by side over different crafts, sparrows, and other vehicles. It wasn’t as exposed as the other one, too. Baekhyun found himself being dragged again through sets of stairs and stairs winding up, the sound of tools and engines being left behind as Sehun opened what seemed to be a maintenance door.

“The Kris Wu has his office in a closet?” Mongryong asked, and he almost sounded concerned. “This is a downgrade from whatever set up he had before, I am certain!”

Sehun didn’t answer, only giving them a blank stare. He swiped a key card.

And, _wow_ , that wasn’t a maintenance closet.

There was a bar. There was lounge bar with all windows looking down on the hangar. The atmosphere was actually really nice, even if it was small— clearly meant to be intimate. Baekhyun’s eyes followed every bright colour and trinket he saw, until they caught on the tallest man he had seen –perhaps taller than Chanyeol— giving them his back. He had a padded cloak that looked familiar. He was staring up at some large screens, and Baekhyun followed his gaze, only to find himself staring at his own face.

Or well, it looked a lot like him. It was some sort of security footage. The Baekhyun in the video had that grey hair Baekhyun despised, and even seeing it on video made him shudder. He was wearing some sort of poncho –that looked so comfortable!— and he was just… Sitting there, legs crossed and staring up at the camera with an empty expression. He even waved to the camera, after a little while.

“What are you watching?” Sehun asked, and the man turned sharply. Baekhyun froze behind Sehun’s figure. The man wasn’t able to spot him from where he was standing, and neither could Baekhyun look at him without making himself known, but still, he felt very anxious all of the sudden. Maybe because he was technically meeting his new boss. Yeah. That had to be it.

“Would it kill you to knock, Oh?” The Kris Wu’s voice was deep, but not like Chanyeol’s. It wasn’t raspy. It was a bit nasal, words a bit slurred, as if the man speaking them didn’t really bother with the best enunciation. It made a strange feeling shoot through Baekhyun— one he couldn’t really comprehend.

It was a combination of the excitement he had felt when he had seen Baekbeom with bitterness, admiration, affection, anger, happiness, sadness. The Hunter immediately understood that Kris Wu and he had had a complicated relationship. Oh no. Baekhyun’s stomach was sinking. He didn’t want to face this. No wonder Sehun was making him hide. Fuck. Could he escape?

“You gave me a key card so I wouldn’t knock,” Sehun protested without much zest, nonchalant. “Anyway, what are you watching?”

Kris Wu grumbled. “Sungwoo’s security tapes. Since he had a lot of caches across the System, I thought maybe he shared one with Baekhyun so he could—”

Sehun cleared his throat exaggeratedly, making the Kris Wu stop dead on his tracks, while Baekhyun was confused. Who was Sungwoo? And why would he be helping Baekhyun? Unless there was more than one Baekhyun? Was Baekhyun a common name? Baekhyun looked back at the now paused video of his past self, as if would give him answers.

“I’ve got someone to show you,” Sehun announced to the Hunter Vanguard, and moved out of the way. “A new Hunter, fresh out of the oven.”

The Kris Wu was very, very tall indeed. He wasn’t muscular in the same way Chanyeol was, though— he was lankier, like Sehun. The first thing that called Baekhyun’s attention were his straight, strong eyebrows, and then, his hawk-like features. He had black hair, but it was long, tied up in a small ponytail and with a section braided. When Kris spotted Baekhyun, there was something like recognition in his eyes, but it was guarded. As if he didn’t allow himself to believe who he was seeing.

“Oh?” Kris intoned, looking down at his boots instead of Baekhyun. “Well, let’s have a look at them. Welcome, kid. RouRou, come meet our new light.”

A Ghost transmatted into existence. They were all white, with blue circuits exposed artfully over their edges. They seemed friendly, and kind, and as if they were going to say something but were stopped at the last minute when they took in Baekhyun’s appearance. It only took them a moment to recover, though. “W-Wait a second…”

“New light,” Sehun nudged Baekhyun’s shoulder, and he was smirking again, a bit smug. “Take off your helmet, will you?”

Baekhyun thought this was unnecessarily dramatic, but he was low-key enjoying it anyway, so, without saying a single word, he pulled the helmet from his head.

Watching how the Kris Wu’s expression opened and became the very picture of horror and bewilderment did give Baekhyun a wicked pleasure. RouRou gasped noisily, his shell opening out of sheer impression, like a frightened cat. Mongryong chose that moment to transmat as well, exuding merry feelings.

“Surprise!” Baekhyun’s Ghost exclaimed joyfully. “The Kris Wu! Friendly Ghost RouRou! I am seventy-eight percent pleased to see you both again!”

“Mongryong?!” RouRou nearly screeched. “You’re a Ghost?!”

“Yes I am!” Mongryong replied happily.

“Hi,” Baekhyun greeted, because he didn’t know what else to say. Kris was petrified. Baekhyun wondered if the reason Mongryong despised the Kris Wu was because Baekhyun and he hadn’t gotten along, and maybe this was Kris’s worst nightmare, and maybe Sehun had a sick sense of humour, and Baekhyun was already feeling betrayed, and Kris was growing really pale—

—Sehun and Baekhyun barely had time to break the Kris Wu’s fall as he fainted.

“It was his idea to surprise you!” Baekhyun accused Sehun shamelessly, once the Kris Wu had come to, sat down, and drunk some water. “I’m innocent!”

“I didn’t know he would pass out!” Sehun retorted, arms crossed and frowning. “I thought you’d both ugly cry, that’s all.”

“Kris has been exhausted!” RouRou defended his Guardian. “Being part of the Vanguard is a lot of hard work, especially with all the secrets— okay, no! I’m not gonna say anything! Not this time!”

“We’re really, really, _really_ sorry,” Vivi apologised in the younger Hunters’ stead. He even sounded authentic. “We didn’t think this through at all.”

“I, for one, am very amused by this unfolding of events!” Mongryong chimed in enthusiastically. “The Kris Wu is ridiculous and I will be happy to broadcast that to whomever may listen!”

“Every single one of you, shut up,” Kris finally ordered, morose and grumpy. “Especially you, Mongryong.”

“This is why we do not get along!” Mongryong enthused, but then took mercy on Kris and did as told. Once they were submerged in a somewhat awkward silence, Kris sighed heavily, shoulders sagging. He took a good look at Baekhyun then, and Baekhyun tried not to shrink under his gaze. Kris Wu had a special way of making him feel small.

“Where did you find him?” Kris asked Sehun.

“The Almighty, actually,” The youngest Hunter responded. “We took him to Baekbeom’s Farm first. And— don’t worry. Chanyeol and he are back on their bullshit.”

“I can see that,” Kris commented, eyes now fixated on Baekhyun’s black hair. “Nice colour. It suits you. Better than the silver. What shader did you use?”

“It was an ugly grey,” Baekhyun mentioned, because he hated it. He whipped his hair to show it off. “And _this_ is Carminica. Do you like it?”

“Very much. Welcome back, Baekhyun,” The Hunter Vanguard finally said, a bit quietly. “Or maybe I should just say ‘welcome’.”

“Glad to be here, sir,” Baekhyun said, a bit hesitantly, and was a little taken aback when Kris snorted. “What is it? Am I already fucking up?”

“No, no,” Kris admitted. “I just think this is the first time you’ve shown me a modicum of respect.”

Baekhyun was unsure if he could laugh, even if he found it a little bit funny. He offered Kris an uncertain smile that the man reciprocated politely, before he was looking at Sehun.

“Do me a favour, Oh,” Kris started. “Take these little trio of troublemakers for a spin. Maybe find something for Mongryong’s shell. I need to talk to Baekhyun in private.”

“Sure thing,” Sehun conceded, as he got up. “Try not to pass out again. I don’t think Baekhyun can lift you on his own.”

“Yeah, let’s not try that out,” Baekhyun quipped, a bit nervous on being left completely alone with Kris. He didn’t know what to expect, but he felt all jumbled up inside. “See you later, Sehun?”

Sehun nodded, understanding the plea in Baekhyun’s voice. “I’ll find you later. Relax.”

“Bye, Captain!” Mongryong exclaimed, more than happy to leave the Kris Wu’s presence. That little light much preferred the company of other Ghosts, and Baekhyun was growing jealous.

Once they were on their own, Kris once again pinned Baekhyun with his eyes, but it was different this time. He had softened, relaxed without anyone else with them. In fact, he even smiled at Baekhyun, though it was short-lived.

“So, Baekhyun Byun is a Guardian now,” Kris began, gesturing to Baekhyun’s form. “And a Hunter. Of course. Let me guess— you’re a Gunslinger, aren’t you?”

Baekhyun chuckled. “So they tell me. Though I don’t really know what it means.”

Kris hummed, sipping a little bit more of his water.

“They say Gunslingers are lone wolves who live for the perfect shot,” Kris remarked. “Anyone who knew you would have been able to see that one coming. Though personally, I’d change it to the lone _fox_.”

Baekhyun perked up.

“Mongryong called me that when he rezz’ed me,” Baekhyun commented. “The Skulking Fox. Said I was a scavenger that went by that name.”

“You were,” Kris confirmed with a nod. “The best scavenger this damn City had seen in decades, and I’ve been here since the start. And well, being a Hunter isn’t really all that different. You’ll fit right in.”

Kris’s eyes darted to outside the glass panes that surrounded them— towards the mountains Baekhyun could make out expanding beyond the hangar’s exit, leading to who knew where.

“Hunters used to prowl the wilderness and the wastelands, taking big risks for even bigger rewards. We used to be outlaws,” Kris said, almost as if he was narrating a story. “You, Baekhyun Byun, are the definition of high-risk, high-reward. Not to mention making your own luck always meant bending the rules, to you.” When Kris spoke next, he was back to looking at Baekhyun, but he didn’t bother hiding his pride on seeing the young Gunslinger like this. “Your unique brand of daring and ingenuity is exactly what we’ve always needed. I’m… Glad the Traveller didn’t let you go so easily.”

Baekhyun liked the praise. Kris Wu seemed to think very highly of him already, which was great. He felt himself relax.

“Great! So where should I start? Oh! I need to tell you something— actually, we could get the Commander and that other guy too, since it’s—”

“Later,” Kris waved it off easily, and honestly, he exuded the same power a lazy lion did. Baekhyun could only nod, heeding the command. “First, tell me what happened to you. I need to know.”

“Sure,” Baekhyun answered with a shrug, because that wasn’t hard at all. “I have no idea!”

Kris rolled his eyes at him, familiar and fond and yet, annoyed. “I’m serious here, Baekhyun.”

“So am I!” Baekhyun countered. “The first thing I remember is waking up in the Almighty, with Mongryong hovering over me. He’s told me like, how we got there, and he mentioned I was sick. He said I was about to be…”

“Taken,” Kris supplied when Baekhyun trailed off. Baekhyun nodded vigorously, snapping his fingers.

“That’s the word! What does it mean?” Baekhyun asked, but didn’t actually give a chance for Kris to answer. “Apparently, I thought it was inevitable. So I asked Mongryong to kill me before I tried to kill him. That’s why his shell is so fucked.”

Kris listened intently, nodding slowly. “Well. Yeah. You were right to think that. You have an iron will, but being slowly Taken… I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy.”

“What does it mean?” Baekhyun prodded, leaning forward with curious eyes. “No one will tell me.”

“So you have the Light, right?” Kris said. “Real nice. Gives you superpowers. You’re immortal now. Of course, not everything could be that perfect. There’s a countering force. We call it the Darkness.”

What was that sound? Was someone whispering? Baekhyun swatted away a fly from his face, watching Kris. “That’s… Been mentioned.”

“We’ve never finished understanding the Darkness, because whenever some brave soul decides to investigate, we either exile them or they die tragically,” Kris mentioned regretfully. “We only know it wants the Traveller. The Last City’s policy on this… It has always been sort of if we can’t see it, maybe it won’t bother us.”

“Sounds like a stupid idea.”

“It was effective, though,” Kris countered. “Ever since the Collapse, we hadn’t encountered it directly ever again. The closest we ever got to it was the Hive, who follow the Darkness, but we managed to drive them _mostly_ to the Moon. That is, until two years ago. When the Taken War happened.”

Baekhyun felt like this was a story he wanted to listen to. He was certain his eyes were sparkling with interest as he willed Kris to continue.

“There was this Hive Prince in the Moon,” Kris relayed. “Crota. Real bad guy. An actual god. No Guardian who encounters him ever survived, save for one. But then, one special Titan decided he didn’t like that,” The way the Hunter said this teetered the edge of amused and annoyed. “You know him— Chanyeol Park.”

Baekhyun’s eyes widened, cheeks turning a pretty pink. Holy shit, Chanyeol had killed a _god_? That was actually really awesome.

“He was already feeling himself since he had destroyed the Black Heart— that was a Vex god,” Kris said almost nonchalantly, and Baekhyun’s eyes grew more because _excuse me_? That was two gods! _Two_! “So he went for Crota, and actually succeeded. _Really_ went for it— travelled to a whole different ascendant realm just to make sure Crota’s soul didn’t exist. Went for Crota’s consort, Crota’s lieutenants, Crota’s wizards, all of it. They call him Crota’s End. Even you called him that.”

“No wonder,” Baekhyun was in awe. “Is that the Taken War?”

 _Now_ Kris definitely looked annoyed.

“No,” He said succintly. “Crota was a Hive Prince. There was a Hive _King_ who now wanted Chanyeol’s head served in a silver platter. That guy travelled from deep space just to get Chanyeol Park, and he brought a very special army with him. Those were the Taken. The thing was— any creature could be Taken. Consumed by Darkness, enslaved to it, in exchange for a little bit more power.”

This was important. _This is important_ , Baekhyun could hear on repeat. _This is where I come in._

“This Taken army grew with every step they took,” Kris kept speaking. “Chanyeol gathered a fireteam, and then got it into his head he would deal with the Taken King, Oryx, himself. And he did. He killed Oryx, killed his daughters, his nephew— look, the whole family tree, okay? They took to calling him and his fireteam Kingslayer, after that.”

Baekhyun was gawking at this point. Why were they calling Chanyeol Kingslayer when he clearly was a Godslayer?

“Stop making that face,” Kris scowled. “We get it, Chanyeol Park is great. The point of this story is when they killed Oryx, they rejected the Taken Throne and left it empty. So both the Hive and the Taken were scattered— they had no leadership, and no one could Take. And yet—”

“—There I was,” Baekhyun understood, although he was still half-thinking about Chanyeol being too cool. Kris nodded gravelly.

“There were you,” Kris agreed. “We know, because you told Chanyeol, that you came into contact with the Darkness somewhere in Luna. But _how_? I guess that’s a mystery that’s been lost forever.”

Baekhyun blinked.

“Actually,” The new light chirped. “I think I can solve that one for you.”

Kris raised an eyebrow at Baekhyun. “I’m listening.”

Baekhyun barely had time to grab his own helmet before Kris had been dragging him out of the hidden bar, down the stairs, into the hangar, and back up some other stairs, towards the courtyard. The whole time, Baekhyun winced and moaned, complaining about how Kris was going to dislocate his arm at this rate.

Kris didn’t relent, though. He was deadset on bringing Baekhyun to Suho as quickly as possible, cursing the whole time, muttering about how Chanyeol and Sehun were absolutely irresponsible, how could they sit on information like this, making calls on his comm to Suho and then to Xiumin to meet him at the bridge. He also called Sehun, practically barking at him to get back this instant. Pulling Baekhyun’s arm was the least of his problems.

The first impression Baekhyun got of Suho and Xiumin was that they were both really beautiful. Suho, with short dark brunet hair and and megawatt smile, seemed to shine from within with pure charisma, with the red and white armour of a true leader. Xiumin, on the other hand, had hair so black it seemed blue, ethereal and elegant, royal purple robes flowing in the wind.

They both smiled warmly when they spotted Baekhyun, even if Kris was sporting a stormy expression that should’ve concerned them. Baekhyun waved with his free hand, but he was pouting, as he finally got to snatch his hand back from Kris’s own. He rubbed it gingerly to ease the pain.

“Baekhyun, tell them exactly what you told me.” Kris commanded harshly. Baekhyun glared at his Hunter Vanguard.

“I can see why Sehun said you were high-strung,” He was still rubbing his hand, and pulled on his glove with his teeth to be able to tend to his own hand directly. “If my shoulder is dislocated, you’re paying for the hospital bills!”

“You have a Ghost that can heal you,” Kris deadpanned. “Now— hold on a second. What did Sehun Oh call me?”

“He called you high-strung,” Xiumin chimed in, and even his voice was pretty. He was sliding towards Baekhyun with a smile that showed his gums, and he had cat-like eyes. “Hello, Baekhyun. You probably don’t remember me, but I’m—”

_Minseok._

“Minseok,” Baekhyun interrupted, blurting the name out. When Xiumin –or Minseok’s— expression fell, he was quick to realise his mistake and try to amend it. “Sorry! Sorry, Xiumin. I know that. I’m sorry, I don’t know where that came from.”

“No worries,” Xiumin answered, regaining his smile, albeit softer this time. “You heard that name a few times, after all. With what you’ve done for us, you may use it— just, do so in private.”

Oh. Okay.

“Okay!” Baekhyun echoed himself, feeling as if he had been trusted with a really important secret. Kris was butting in immediately.

“Very sweet, okay, now let’s talk about—”

“—And you’re Junmyeon!” Baekhyun called out, and gasped at himself as Suho looked at him with raised eyebrows. “I’m sorry! I don’t know what’s up with me!”

“That’s alright, I’m almost certain you heard my name once or twice, too— Luhan could never learn to keep his mouth shut.” Suho chuckled, but it was slightly terse.

“You can call him that when you’re one-on-one,” Kris dismissed. “Now, listen to me—”

“Where’s Chanyeol?” Baekhyun kept him from talking, slightly on purpose. “Sehun said he came to you! To help Hendery! Where is Hendery?”

“They were with me, that’s true,” Minseok reassured him. “I helped ease Hendery’s pain as best as I could, then I suggested some Guardians that could take him in. Chanyeol took Hendery to meet them, see if they got along.”

“Why can’t I take him in? Sehun said my apartment was huge,” Baekhyun complained, because he was very attached to Hendery already and he was certain Mongryong, who harboured a huge crush on the princely boy, wouldn’t forgive him if they were parted.

“Because your apartment is already a fire hazard as it is, Baekhyun,” Commander Junmyeon answered soothingly and sternly at the same time. “It’s already eight people, with you included. Space is limited at the moment in the City. We three are sleeping in Sooman’s old office as it is.”

“You can come to my place!” Baekhyun instantly suggested, adoring the way Kris was growing frustrated with him.

“We’d love to—”

“—For fuck’s sake!” Kris finally exploded, voice booming with rage. “Didn’t you understand when I said this was fucking urgent?! Baekhyun, as your Vanguard, I’m telling you to tell Minseok and Junmyeon _right now_ what you told me about the Moon.”

“Okay, fine, no need to get so angry about it, geez,” Baekhyun teased, but then grew serious, because he didn’t need to understand the Darkness to comprehend how dire their situation was. “Well, you know now I died. I was rezz’ed by my Ghost, Mongryong, right after the Traveller awoke. The Light came to us like a shockwave.”

“It expanded throughout the whole System, maybe beyond,” Junmyeon acquiesced, proud. “We’re at the beginning of a new Golden Age.”

Baekhyun made a sound of disagreement. “Ehhh, hold that thought. So— I wake up, I don’t remember anything about me. You guys know I was being Taken, right?”

“You were more so infected with the Darkness than being Taken, with what it looked like, but yes,” Minseok corrected pensively. “Continue.”

“I got this gut feeling— I don’t know what else to call it. I wanted to get to the Moon, so we went to the Moon,” Baekhyun reasoned. “Did you know there’s a Keep there?”

There was an awkward pause.

“My predecessor… She knew,” Minseok admitted reluctantly. “I’ve only just found this in her personal records. A Scarlet Keep, constructed by the Hive.”

“What?” Junmyeon exclaimed. “When were you going to share this with us?”

“Later,” Minseok replied simply. “You’re interrupting Baekhyun.”

“It doesn’t matter if you knew or didn’t know,” Baekhyun continued. “Did your _predecessor_ mention what was being kept inside?”

“She didn’t, no.”

_Show them my glory._

“A black Pyramid,” Baekhyun was the witness of how both Junmyeon’s and Minseok’s faces transformed into ones of disconcert, just like Kris’s own expression had in the beginning. “It was— it was as if it was alive. Who knows how long it’s been there— waiting for someone to stumble into it. And _I_ stumbled into it, once. I did it again last week. It infected me.”

“You’re getting tested as soon as you’re done,” Junmyeon declared with strength. “We’re not losing one of our best men again to the Darkness if we can stop it.”

Baekhyun was touched, but it wasn’t even the big issue. He shook his head.

“This time, the Pyramid just wanted to talk,” Baekhyun put it in the only terms that came to mind. “And it showed me— it showed me an army of them, awakening with the Traveller. Coming for it. Coming for the Light. I can’t even begin to describe the hatred they expelled.”

Minseok and Junmyeon exchanged looks among themselves. Neither said a word, and Baekhyun took it as a sign to continue.

“I was so terrified of what I saw that I ran away. I went to Nessus, just because. The Red Legion are trying to eat that planet, by the way, it’s weird,” Baekhyun digressed. “Anyway— when I was there, I found Hendery. He had been taken from the Last City to Nessus by the Red Legion, right? I don’t know why. I thought he was a prince, but there’s no royalty here.”

“He’s not exactly a prince,” Minseok indulged Baekhyun. “How does he fit in this story?”

“Hendery deadass asked me if I had seen the Pyramids too,” Baekhyun explained. “But he didn’t call them that. He called them knives.”

“The Darkness,” It dawned on the Warlock Vanguard first. “It’s coming for us again.”

“A second Collapse,” Junmyeon muttered. “No. We barely survived the first. The Traveller can’t catch a break, can it?”

“ _We_ can’t catch a break, are you kidding me?” Kris was stepping in then. “If we’re lucky, those Pyramids are still off in deep space— wherever they are coming from. We need to start creating a plan right now.”

“You’re absolutely right,” Junmyeon agreed. “Minseok, get your Hidden. We need all the lore and archives we can find on the Darkness and on the Collapse as soon as we can. Kris, we need to take a look at this Scarlet Keep. Sunhee—”

“—Wait, wait, wait,” Baekhyun interjected. “What are you saying? I’m not even done yet.”

“What do you mean you’re not done yet?” Minseok repeated loudly. “What else is worse than the Darkness and its Pyramids coming for the Traveller and the Light when we barely got it back?”

“I mean, it’s not _worse_ ,” Baekhyun attempted to comfort the Warlock. “It’s just more immediate. The Red Legion shot the Almighty out of the sky and set it out so it’s gonna crash over the Last City. If they can’t take the Light, then they’ll destroy the Traveller.”

“And us with it,” Junmyeon added sombrely. “This is an absolute crisis. An emergency. We need to call up on every ally we have. Where is Taemin Bray? Now’s the time to get Rasputin to help us. Lay and Tao are coming from the Reef today, right? This involves the Awoken, too. And—”

Junmyeon stopped himself. By his side, Minseok was eagerly awaiting for him to say something.

“—And I guess we can also contact Luhan,” Minseok actually grinned at that, even if Junmyeon seemed miffed at the implication. “ _If_ you know where to find him.”

“Oh, I don’t know where to find him, but I will,” Minseok claimed, delighted despite the news he had just received. “Luhan couldn’t possibly resist coming home now.”

“It’s settled then,” Junmyeon decided. “We’ll keep this information among our most trusted Guardians first. Baekhyun, I’m very happy you decided to re-join us.”

“The Traveller sort of decided for me, sir,” Baekhyun joked, but Junmyeon shook his head. He gave Baekhyun a bright grin.

“But you could’ve gone anywhere else, and you did,” The Titan Commander scolded Baekhyun lightly. “But you came back to the Last City. You’ve shown us time and time again that the impossible never is quite so, even if you don’t remember it.”

Had he really? Baekhyun felt warm again, and he ducked his head. Junmyeon watched him fondly, and Kris, surprisingly, dropped a hand on Baekhyun’s black hair. Xiumin beamed at him.

“Let’s find Sehun Oh and get you tested, kid.”

Testing for Darkness infections was unpleasant.

Or maybe, just needles were. Drawing blood was an old-fashioned, yet effective way of checking for pesky things like sterile neurites. Baekhyun still held Sehun’s hand throughout the whole process, refusing to look at his own blood rushing up the plastic cord and into a vial.

The doctor who received them checked his eyes –for stars, she said— and asked him all about voices in his head. There were no stars in his eyes according to her, and Baekhyun was pretty sure the whispering he had been hearing were only his own muddled thoughts, so she preemptively suggested that the results of his blood work would come back negative.

After that, Sehun had decided they needed to go home and get Baekhyun settled in. It was only five minutes away, the Nightstalker promised, and he’d get to meet some of the others while also waiting for Chanyeol in a comfortable place. Wouldn’t Baekhyun like to take a nap, after all?

Baekhyun would have loved to take a nap. So he followed Sehun through the streets of the City, overwhelmed by its beauty. Like a child, he couldn’t stop looking at everything around him, even if it meant holding onto Sehun’s arm so he wouldn’t get lost despite the straightforward road.

The building they came to was yet another familiar and unknown sight. It was somewhat small in comparison to other buildings around it, but it had been fortunate enough not to be damaged during the Red Legion’s invasion. Of an offwhite colour and covered in vines, Baekhyun immediately decided he liked it.

“I’m so excited to see the home in which you grew up, Captain!” Mongryong proclaimed cheerfully. “I never knew Captain Jacobson’s background, other than the thorough information attached to his crew member file in the Exodus Black!”

“I can’t wait to see it, too,” Baekhyun admitted, which was a bit strange, considering he had probably always lived here. But he couldn’t remember a single thing about it, and even the elevator and its mirrors caught his attention. “I wonder what kind of apartment I have.”

“A nice one.” Sehun deadpanned. Baekhyun whined at him.

“Be serious, Sehunnie!”

“I am very serious. This is my official submission to be your roommate. Vivi and I hardly make any noise,” Sehun insisted, and Baekhyun just laughed as the doors of the elevator opened, and they stepped out.

There it was. Door 1485. Baekhyun felt oddly nervous, but excited at the same time. Sehun swiped another key card over a sensor by the door, and then he pushed him open.

Baekhyun yelled and jumped, startled, as a party popper went off and three guys in his living room screamed noisily.

“Surprise!”

“Baekhyunnie!”

“Surprise.”

“Fuck,” Baekhyun said eloquently, gripping his chest, heart racing at the impression. “Who are you?”

A man with dark chocolate hair and a kind grin which curled at the corners squawked but didn’t lose his friendly demeanour. He had a loud, yet pleasant voice.

“Excuse me? Who are we?” The man parroted in faux indignation as Sehun ushered Baekhyun inside. “I’m Jongdae! I’m your friend!”

Baekhyun gasped, face lighting up. He didn’t remember Jongdae, but he did remember what Chanyeol had shared. Jongdae was a Warlock, a Stormcaller, one of his best friends, smart and sweet. He exuded goodwill, really, and Baekhyun was instantly endeared. “Really!”

“Don’t forget about us!” The tallest of the bunch, a boy with pouty lips and red hair, the one with the party popper and arguably the most energy of the three, was complaining. This one made Baekhyun feel a little bit shy, ashamed, but there was no denying this man’s warmth. “Baekhyun! It’s me, Jongin! Definitely your friend, too!”

“Jongin! Hi!” Baekhyun greeted happily. Chanyeol had also mentioned him— the gentle Sentinel. “Nice to meet you! Again!”

“You changed your hair,” The third man remarked, his voice low and smooth. He had black hair, big owlish eyes, and a heart-shaped smile. This had to be Kyungsoo, the Striker who tended to intimidate everyone he met. He offered Baekhyun his hand to shake, and Baekhyun took it, convinced he had to impress this man most of all. “It looks nice. I’m Kyungsoo. Also your friend.”

“Wow, I have a lot of those, don’t I?” Baekhyun quipped, but it was earnest. He was relieved so many people had been expecting him— and were happy to see him. While Chanyeol had clearly adored everything he did, and painted him almost heroically in every story, something kept nagging at Baekhyun to take it with a grain of salt. It was probably his own self-deprecation. Mongryong _had_ mentioned he had a lot of people waiting for him, after he had been reborn.

“We’re the best ones, though,” Jongdae replied sassily, snickering. He was fast, because in the moment Baekhyun hadn’t been looking, he had fetched a broom and was already swiping the remains of the party popper. “Did we scare you? I’m sorry. We’re just excited!”

“It must be so confusing for you,” Jongin was suddenly guilty, and wow, his puppy eyes were pretty powerful. He was like a teddy bear. “All these people up in your business, and not remembering anything— oh. Wait. What _do_ you remember?”

“Baekhyun cheated,” Sehun chimed in, as he sprawled himself over the grey couch. Baekhyun took the opportunity to look around. It was pretty spacious in here— two couches, a coffee table, an old-fashioned piano, a radio station, photos, a bookshelf. The kitchen was pretty nice, too. Was that a laundry room? “He had Mongryong store all of his memories. He can see them whenever.”

Jongdae cackled, but he seemed more impressed than anything. “Of course you cheated. Where’s that little rascal, anyway?”

“Right here, Guardian Chen!” Mongryong announced, popping from behind Baekhyun. Jongdae’s grin faltered a little when he saw the state of Mongryong’s shell –though now he was technically complete, with the addition of two orange and blue parts Sehun and Vivi had put over him— and the two Titans shared a worried glance. “I know I look terrible! No need to make faces! It is quite rude!”

“What happened to you?” Kyungsoo asked, frowning. His Ghost was transmatting right next to him. It was as if he was made of a baby blue diamond, and he looked worried.

“Relaying the incident would be a breach of my security protocols! And unlike RouRou, I am not a snitch!” Mongryong joked happily, but he only got some awkward laughs. “Hello, Friendly Ghost Ink! Captain Baekhyun, this is my best friend!”

“Every Ghost we have met is your best friend, Mongryong,” Baekhyun chided good-naturedly. “Why don’t you guys go mingle somewhere?”

“Sure,” Ink conceded. “Mongryong, we can talk in the room— Monggu and Pepper are in there. She’s been meaning to apologise to you. Vivi?”

“Updating Unfriendly Ghost Pepper’s tag to Undecided Ghost Pepper!” Mongryong announced, as he followed Ink down a hall. Vivi chuckled, trailing after them, and their animated voices carried as Mongryong began relating everything Baekhyun had put him through since he had been re’zzed.

The Guardians, in turn, were all watching Baekhyun. Sehun patted the seat next to him on the couch as he sat up, and Baekhyun joined him, while Kyungsoo took his other side. Jongdae and Jongin took a seat on the loveseat.

“You put Mongryong on lockdown somehow?” Jongdae began without beating around the bush. Baekhyun shrugged. “Most Ghosts can’t surpass Golden Age tech like Mongryong’s AI without help.”

“I actually don’t have any idea what I told Mongryong, and we’ve tried bypassing the protocols,” Baekhyun said honestly with a sigh. “But it’s pretty impossible. So, if you were hoping for me to give you answers of any kind— I can’t give them. He has my memories, and I can access them, but I’m not about to see my whole life to find…”

He trailed off. He didn’t actually know what he was looking for. By his side, Kyungsoo hummed in understanding.

“You gave us answers when you were alive… Before,” The Striker reassured Baekhyun, thinking for a moment to find a way to phrase things. “It might be best if you don’t look for anything further than that.”

“Oh, yeah,” Jongin agreed quickly. “You walked through that door, and your energy is so different! Unburdened.”

“You’ll see things when you’re meant to see them and not before,” Jongdae comforted, after a silent pause. “As it is… I’m just happy you’re back with us.”

“Yeah,” Jongin interjected. “We really missed you, these past few days.”

“We should’ve seen you’d go sacrifice yourself,” Kyungsoo observed, shaking his head. “But we’ll berate you for that later. We’ve got tons to talk about.”

Baekhyun wasn’t sure if he had been a good person.

Well. He must’ve been. From the moment he had ran into Chanyeol and Sehun, he had been nothing but appreciated. His brother and his sister-in-law hardly had let him go back to the Last City, following the Guardians. Mongryong stuck with him through a lot of bullshit. Kris had probably cared about him a lot. Xiumin and Suho –or Minseok and Junmyeon— had seemed eternally grateful to him. Kyungsoo and Jongin and Jongdae were incredibly supportive and funny.

And all of this made Baekhyun feel happy. Satisfied. Comforted. Relieved.

Like he was hiding the biggest secret in the history of secrets. But that was stupid, because he didn’t have any.

Jongdae and Kyungsoo didn’t really share anything much different from what Chanyeol, Mongryong, Sehun, and Baekbeom had. They had met Baekhyun on a mission earlier on the day of the Red Legion’s invasion. Tagged along with him to his brother’s Farm. Organised a counterstrike, became friends, and saved the world. They talked about how Baekhyun told them Guardian stories almost every night despite not being one himself, kept their spirits up, was an irrational beacon of hope when everything seemed lost, gave great speeches.

Also on Baekhyun, they knew three things: at some point before this, Baekhyun had been infected with Darkness, they knew it had happened in the Moon but not how, and Baekhyun was a trooper for resisting it. As it turned out, being sick like that was terrible for the psyche, but it hadn’t been apparent from any of them. Baekhyun didn’t act very different from how he did now— cheerful and talkative, if a little angry. They had hoped they would be able to help Baekhyun before he succumbed— but Baekhyun always had his own plans.

It was all fine and dandy, now, anyway. Or so they said, as they moved the subject away from the past and to their present— how annoying it had been to share ships as rooms for days, how moody Chanyeol was without Baekhyun around, how for some reason, other Guardians thought of them as a unit now. In turn, Baekhyun told them about the Pyramid he had come across, the strange vision, going to Nessus and running into the Red Legion and their royal wine plans, how he had ran into Hendery, named him, and saved him from Fallen who wanted to eat him— while Sehun shared on how their Almighty excursion had been a total mess, and there was now a craft the size of the City coming down upon it.

Baekhyun appreciated them, really. They made things feel not that awful as they were—not that he was all that terrified. He just didn’t really understand how, if the Darkness was as powerful and encompassing as everyone vaguely claimed, he had resisted it for— such a long time.

And what had made him snap? What were they hiding?

Baekhyun didn’t feel ready to look. He wanted to cling to this sense of wonder and amazement to everything and everyone he saw. He wasn’t dumb. He could tell that, whatever it was that he remained blissfully unaware about, it made everyone around him relieved and happy.

So the Gunslinger tried not to think about it. He was sure his clan wanted nothing more than to protect each other— and that included him. He had all the time in the world to ponder on who was Baekhyun Byun. A good start was touring his own apartment, really.

Kyungsoo and Jongin –who were the cutest couple!— had taken what just _had_ to be Baekbeom’s old room. Baekhyun could only feel it. Jongdae had taken what they assumed had once been Baekhyun’s room, and he had been setting up another bed for the inevitable moment in which he would have to share with either Minseok or Suho or Kris— or all three. Lay –a name that had come up quite a lot— had offered to be in the couch, while Sehun had landed himself the tiniest room— which he would share with Tao.

And Chanyeol? Someone had had the beautiful foresight to put him in Baekhyun’s actual room. They would be forced to share a bed. Baekhyun thanked every single one of them personally, making Jongdae and Sehun cackle.

“We’ll let you be for a little while,” Kyungsoo finally said. “We’ve been cleaning all day. I bet tomorrow we’re gonna get called in by the Vanguard, so you should get some rest.”

“But if we don’t!” Jongin interjected. “If we don’t, I’m taking you to the Crucible to test out your powers! Lord Donghae is holding matches in Bannerfall! It’s gonna be great!”

It did sound great. Baekhyun wanted to see what exactly he was capable of doing, because most of the time, he had been hiding. Fallen and Cabal couldn’t be the same as Guardians, on equal ground as him, fighting to the simulated death, right?

His room was actually quite comfortable. His bed was neatly made, while his clothes had been folded, but not put away just yet. There was a workstation in the corner, where Baekhyun had probably been working on a modified fusion rifle— Mongryong was right, his procedural memory was intact. He wasn’t the cleanest of tinkerers, as evidenced by circuits and tools and bolts that laid all over the station and its monitor and keyboard. There was pretty art on his walls, combined with a photo of Taehyung, a photo of Baekbeom and Yeongja, and a photo of who Baekhyun assumed were his parents and grandparents. On the nightstand, there was an origami paper book Baekhyun could almost recognise, and on top of it, there was a folded soft yellow paper rabbit, which Baekhyun could almost remember drawing eyes on.

Almost.

Once Baekhyun had been left alone, he called for Mongryong. Mongryong had been carrying Baekhyun’s stuff in a place he called ‘his Ghost space’, and Baekhyun was itching to look at it all put together. Mongryong, who was very much more interested in playing with his friends, had left Baekhyun to his own devices as well.

The sniper rifle with koi painted on the side. A rocket launcher with the cutest fox motive. The Ace of Spades. An auto rifle in blue, red, and white. A trio of dice with weird symbols on it, that seemed to stick together. And one single strange coin.

Baekhyun picked up the coin, examining it. He didn’t actually recall ever finding this, but if he had been carrying it before his death, he wouldn’t know better. It had a symbol on it— a circle with a triangle inside. The other side had a circle with two perpendicular lines. When Baekhyun turned it again, the symbol had changed to a circle with one single line near its edge.

It kept changing, the more Baekhyun played with it. Huh.

There was a knock on the front door. Baekhyun pocketed the coin, just as Jongin came to his room with a smile.

“Hey! Lay and Tao arrived from the Reef!” The redhead exclaimed. Then he lowered his voice, “We did tell them you were alive, though. I’m sorry we ruined the surprise.”

Baekhyun laughed, shaking his head. “I seriously can’t take any more surprises. I just wanna see Chanyeol. Do you know where he could be?”

Jongin looked cute when he giggled. It was strange to imagine this man being a Titan, as fierce as he had seen Chanyeol be. But also, he had seen Chanyeol be an absolute baby. How to reconcile the Godslayer with the crying, vulnerable guy from the fountain Baekhyun should’ve kissed him at? Baekhyun wanted to see him already.

“Chanyeol is getting food,” Jongin confessed rapidly, because there were unfamiliar voices coming in. “We’re out of everything here. And it’s hard finding stuff, with the whole Red War and all. But he’s on his way.”

Baekhyun didn’t get the chance to ask anything else, because there was a loud voice then demanding: “Where is Baekhyun?! Show me! Sehunnie! Where’s Baekhyun?!”

The Hunter heard the rushed steps behind Jongin and began peeking out, but he only caught a glimpse of yet another black-haired boy before he was engulfed in a tight hug that took his breath away.

“Baekhyun!” The person holding him cried out in elation. “Oh, thank the Traveller you’re okay! I know you don’t remember me! I’m Tao!”

“Sehun’s boyfriend!” Baekhyun blurted out, and the man in his arms huffed. As he pulled away, he was met with a happy grin, and eyes lined with kohl. “And also my friend, don’t worry, I know!”

“I’m so much more than Sehun’s boyfriend!” Tao protested, and then, he was twirling Baekhyun around with little effort. “Oh, yeah. This armour? I shaded it for you— Lunar Gloom. Beautiful shader. Did you manage to keep your helmet, too? You look so dangerous with that black hair, I’m loving it!”

“T-Thanks!” Baekhyun said, before he was twirled once more into Tao’s arms. The man —a Warlock— was taller than him, and deceptively strong. He was probably deceptively many things. But mostly, he was sweet, and his Ghost resembled a flower, a cherry blossom pink. “Hi!”

“Hi!” The Ghost chirped. “I’m Candy!”

“Sweetie Ghost Candy!” Mongryong’s voice was bordering on shrill when he came out of Kyungsoo’s and Jongin’s room, spotting the Ghost. “This is just the best day of the five hundred years I have been activated!”

“Hey, Mongryong! We were so worried!” Candy replied, happy and cheerful. Both Ghosts began to revolve around each other, speaking over the other with questions about their whereabouts, giggling, and asking the other to go first. Tao looked down at Baekhyun as Baekhyun frowned jealously at the sight, and Tao snickered.

“Don’t laugh! Every single person we see, he likes more than he likes me,” Baekhyun protested.

“I hardly think that’s possible,” A calm, kind voice called from the living room, at the end of the hall. Baekhyun looked to see a man with blond hair and a dimpled smile checking him out and meeting his eyes at the end with a friendly wink. This had to be Lay. “You’re the most likeable guy I know. And I know me.”

Baekhyun found himself paralysed. It was akin to what he had felt when he had seen Kris for the first time— but he was more scared on what would Lay do to him, and the Gunslinger couldn’t understand why. Being the amnesiac guy sucked.

As if sensing his reluctance –and given how Baekhyun had been rendered mute— Tao was gently nudging him forward towards Lay. Baekhyun didn’t really know why he was kind of terrified, and sort of abashed, when Lay looked more like a gentle sheep than anything else. This living room was way too crowded. Baekhyun felt a little bit trapped.

“Don’t worry, I don’t bite,” Lay appeased him. Baekhyun couldn’t help himself:

“But I do.”

That startled out a breathless chuckle from Lay. Baekhyun couldn’t see Tao nor Jongin, but they were very obviously watching them with bated breath. In the kitchen, Kyungsoo was dutifully washing a dish that really didn’t need any washing, while Jongdae sat in the couch, staring out the window and very obviously trying not to look at them. Sehun, shameless as he was, was staring attentively, posture relaxed.

“I’m sorry, let’s start over, okay?” The blond man suggested. He offered Baekhyun his hand for a shake. “I’m Yixing Zhang. I’m a Hunter. Hey.”

Baekhyun smiled when he heard this. He liked the name Yixing much more than Lay. Apparently, everyone was surprised by this— if the way Tao hardly contained a gasp while Jongin whispering at him to shut up, Kyungsoo faltered on his scrubbing, Jongdae’s blank expression somehow grew blanker, while Sehun raised his eyebrows in approval.

“Hey, Yixing,” Baekhyun greeted, grabbing his hand and shaking it. He even squeezed it. “I’m Baekhyun Byun. I’m also a Hunter!”

“Then where’s your cloak?” Yixing asked. “You need one. It’s our class item. Didn’t our Vanguard give you one?”

“He never mentioned one!” Baekhyun realised with horror. But then, he frowned. “I don’t think I want one. Is it absolutely necessary?”

“What’s wrong with capes?” Yixing wondered, and half-turned his body to show off his own. It was of a dark maroon, with golden accents on the hood and a black stripe moving down. “I think they’re cool!”

“But don’t they get stuck in places?”

“They do,” Sehun chimed in from his spot on the couch, effectively breaking the tension. He had thrown his own cape over his body like a blanket. “They’re just dramatic.”

“Ohhh! I know the perfect one for you, Baekhyunnie!” Tao was saying then, excited. “Cloak of Five Full Moons! It’s so pretty! Plus, it goes with your colour palette! Vibrant red against a pale colour, you’d look so amazing!”

Baekhyun must’ve not looked very convinced, because Yixing came to his rescue.

“You’re more of a poncho guy, anyway,” The blond man offered, and Baekhyun perked up. That was so specific, yet so right!

“You’re so right,” He echoed his thoughts to Yixing, who chuckled. “Where am I gonna find a poncho in this economy?”

“I bet you we can find something if we raid your closet.” Yixing suggested, smirking just a little. Baekhyun found himself smirking back.

The next time someone knocked on the front door, Baekhyun was sprinting to the door before anyone could try and stop him, like a puppy waiting for their owner. He would’ve felt pathetic, if it wasn’t exactly how he was.

He took in all of Chanyeol— from his messed up, dark red hair, to his exhausted almond-shaped eyes, to his pursed lips, to his one single dimple, to his arms carrying a large box filled with groceries, and then back to his face. Baekhyun beamed up at the taller man, sort of enamoured, and Chanyeol grinned back, as if the sight of Baekhyun made everything better instantly.

“Hey,” He finally managed out, giddy. Chanyeol’s grin seemed to get wider, eye twitching just a little. It was adorable and Baekhyun would swoon.

“Hey,” The redheaded Sunbreaker said back, shy but warm. He, too, was staring at Baekhyun up and down— and Baekhyun hoped he looked cute enough, freshly showered and in an oversized hoodie.

Jongdae gagged behind Baekhyun. When the Hunter turned to glare at the Warlock, he had a kittenish, coy smirk.

“When Sehun said you two were even worse than ever before, I didn’t believe him,” He commented, as Kyungsoo slipped between Chanyeol and Baekhyun to take the box from the other Titan’s hands. “Guess I was wrong.”

“I told you,” Sehun said from his spot on the floor, eyes closed as Tao massaged a shader –a peachy orange that somehow _worked_ — into his hair. “Why would I lie?”

“Shut up, Sehun,” Chanyeol snapped without much heat, flushing a pretty pink while Baekhyun just watched him. “When did this place become a hair salon?”

Jongin made big show of pouting at Chanyeol. He was sitting next to Tao, letting the new shader on his own head –a calming blue— settle.

“If you hadn’t dyed your hair, I wouldn’t be in this situation,” The Sentinel complained. “I liked red. But we can’t both be the redheaded Titan.”

“Blue’s already looking incredible, sweetie,” Kyungsoo mumbled, tone relatively flat but with a soft smile as he took out groceries –mostly canned goods and packets— and put them into the fridge with the help of Jongdae. Jongin smiled happily.

“Thanks, babe!” He said. “You should do yours, too!”

“Oh, how about you get purple—” Jongdae began, only to be stopped dead on his tracks by Kyungsoo’s wide eyes on him.

“I’d rather shave my whole head,” The Titan deadpanned. Then, to Chanyeol: “Is this all of it?”

Chanyeol shook his head, running a hand through his hair. Would it be too weird if Baekhyun hugged him right now? He was dying to. Chanyeol had asked him to take things slow this time around and had reiterated that sentiment when Baekhyun had been ogling him that morning as they brushed their teeth side by side, but he hadn’t really told Baekhyun exactly how slow.

Toben was transmatting in front of them, then. Toben was transmatting then three more boxes of stuff, much to the shock of everyone else.

“We might’ve gone a little overboard,” The Ghost admitted.

“Where did you even get so much stuff?” Jongdae questioned, rummaging through one of the boxes. He pulled out a sweater. “There’s even clothes here!”

“I might’ve or might’ve not threatened some Dead Orbit minions,” Chanyeol answered mysteriously, moving closer to Baekhyun. He subtly reached for Baekhyun’s hand, and Baekhyun bit on his bottom lip so he wouldn’t begin smiling. “This whole Vanguard’s clan thing and guilt is coming in really handy. Lucas Wong was ready to give the shirt off his back to get me away.”

“Who’s Lucas Wong?” Baekhyun asked. Chanyeol imperceptibly stilled. In fact, it seemed like in a way, everyone in the room did.

“He’s just another Guardian,” Chanyeol said vaguely, smiling down at Baekhyun. “He and his guys took Hendery in for us, too. So he’s safe.”

Hendery! Baekhyun felt guilty the little Guardian had almost completely slipped his mind. He had gotten so caught up in getting settled and familiarised with his home, that he hadn’t wondered about Hendery’s whereabouts at all. His baby! “Is Lucas Wong a good guy?”

“Sure,” Chanyeol replied, voice going up a single notch, clearing his throat. “Great guy.”

What a bad liar. Baekhyun wondered how did Chanyeol go through life being this transparent. Still, he let it slide, more than content to let Chanyeol believe he had been fooled. For now. He’d look into Lucas Wong. He squeezed Chanyeol’s hand, intertwining their fingers.

“Where’s Lay?” Chanyeol asked.

“He went off to the Tower,” Sehun explained. “By the way, we all got called in tomorrow morning. Vanguard meeting.”

“Of course,” Chanyeol sighed. “You know, I really need a vacation.”

“All you’re getting is a Crucible match, at most,” Kyungsoo countered. “Jongin and I are taking Baekhyun tomorrow. Show him what a Gunslinger supposed to be like.”

“I can’t wait,” Baekhyun said, and it was sincere. He was indeed curious to explore his powers as a Guardian. But, right now, as he looked over Chanyeol once more, who was sort of leaning his body weight on Baekhyun’s arm, he had other concerns. “Why don’t you go take a shower? I’ll bring you something to eat.”

“I’m incapable of saying no to that.” Chanyeol groaned, and then, impulsively, kissed the top of Baekhyun’s head. He blushed instantly, especially as Baekhyun blinked and smirked, while the others cooed or screamed. “I-I’m gonna go take that shower.”

He was gone with that, Baekhyun’s whole side feeling warm and tingly, and he practically twirled to look at the rest of the Guardians, smug.

“That was so fucking sweet,” Jongdae was bemoaning loudly. “I hate you. I hate feelings.”

“Whatever happened to your crush on Xiumin?” Jongin asked shamelessly. _Oh_. Baekhyun laid his eyes on Jongdae as he moved into the kitchen area, to make Chanyeol anything simple yet delicious. The Warlock glared at Jongin, but it didn’t have much heat.

“Is there someone more emotionally unavailable than Xiumin at this point in time? Luhan and he are totally endgame,” Jongdae remarked. “I’ll guess I’ll just have to be the token single guy.”

“Kris and Suho and Lay are all single, too,” Kyungsoo observed. “You’re not special.”

“Let me have one thing, will you?”

Baekhyun rummaged through the groceries Chanyeol had brought without bothering to be orderly about it, letting Kyungsoo follow after him and do it himself, as the others continued to bicker and laugh around. The Gunslinger decided he would make a sandwich for Chanyeol, while he mused on his new life.

This arrangement –eleven guys in rotation in one single apartment— was bound to be very loud. There were still many gaps to fill in— while Baekhyun could get along with everyone, he couldn’t help but to wonder how his relationships with each one was.

Who did he trust? Who did he merely tolerate? Who did he fight with? Why did some of them bring him comfort, while others made him nervous and guilty? What would his test results be tomorrow? Would Hendery get along with Lucas Wong? Would he do well in the Crucible, whatever it was? Would they find a way to stop the Almighty from crashing down on their heads? Was there any way to halt the Pyramids’ progress to them? Would Mongryong ever pay attention to him ever again, or were the Ghosts all he ever needed? Was something wrong with him? Had he been a good person? What was he hiding?

All these questions floated around Baekhyun’s head as he made two sandwiches, because he was suddenly finding himself emotionally exhausted. He hoped Chanyeol would like to retire and chat him up all night. Or sleep. Cuddled up to Baekhyun.

With dramatic goodnights to everyone, Baekhyun headed into the master bedroom. Chanyeol wasn’t out of the shower yet, and so, Baekhyun decided to wait by tidying up his things. The fusion rifle he had abandoned –on a previous life, no less— called his attention, and he began examining it, idly wondering what he had been trying to make out of it.

Under the muted spray of the shower and the voices of everyone else splayed around the apartment, Baekhyun could hardly make out any whispering of any sort.

He was so focused on his task, he didn’t realise Chanyeol was out of the shower until the man was calling his name in that deep, raspy voice. Baekhyun turned his head and took in the sight of Chanyeol in just tight-fitting t-shirt and sweatpants. His arms were so _big_. And he had tattoos, too. Baekhyun fanned himself.

“How am I supposed to take it slow when you go around looking like a snack?” Baekhyun questioned mischievously, delighting in the way Chanyeol’s ears turned cherry red.

“Come eat your actual snack with me,” Chanyeol deflected. “Then we’ll see about taking it _that_ slow.”

Baekhyun took a seat on the edge of his bed with Chanyeol by his side and began eating his sandwich in silence. They both were a bit hungrier than they had realised. Once they were done, Baekhyun collected their plates, leaving them on one of his night tables. Chanyeol beckoned him back with his hand. When Baekhyun was within arms’ reach, he found himself pulled into Chanyeol’s lap, knocking against his strong chest. He laughed breathlessly, trying to accommodate himself. The easiest thing to do was to straddle Chanyeol, bending his knees, and loosely tying his hands behind Chanyeol’s head. Chanyeol steadied him with hands over Baekhyun’s waist.

“These mixed signals are killing me, Chanyeollie,” Baekhyun crooned, but he didn’t really mean it. “I thought you said we needed to go on dates and get to know each other?”

“Absolutely,” Chanyeol agreed immediately. “It’s just— I kinda didn’t account for you looking so beautiful as soon as I walked through that door, baby.”

Baekhyun chuckled. “I guess I’m just irresistible. It’s okay. I’ve been looking at myself in the mirror and yeah— I’m hot.”

Chanyeol hummed for all agreement. He nosed at Baekhyun’s jaw, but didn’t actually kiss it, which drove Baekhyun a little bit crazy, but he allowed it. Two could play at that game, after all— he threaded his fingers through Chanyeol’s hair, right at the nape. Chanyeol let out a soft sigh.

“It’s just been a long day,” The Titan mumbled, his low voice doing all sorts of things to Baekhyun. “And tomorrow’s gonna be longer.”

“Nothing you can’t handle, Kingslayer,” When Chanyeol separated just to look up to him in question, Baekhyun elaborated: “Met with Kris Wu. He told me all about your adventures. What a big hero you are.”

“Let’s not even get into that,” Chanyeol grumbled, and Baekhyun realised quickly he had touched upon a sensitive subject. However, Chanyeol didn’t want to talk about it, as he began nuzzling Baekhyun’s neck. “Did he tell you all about the Skulking Fox?”

“Not really,” Baekhyun mused, letting his eyes fall shut. “Guess it’s another thing I’m gonna have to figure out on my own.”

“You have an advantage,” Chanyeol mentioned, lips brushing against Baekhyun’s neck but not doing anything and ugh, Baekhyun would kill him. “All you gotta do is ask Mongryong.”

“What if I don’t want to?” Baekhyun proposed, pulling very gently on Chanyeol’s hair as some sort of warning/teasing. “What if I want a fresh start?”

A fresh start meant he didn’t have to wonder who he was, Baekhyun supposed. He didn’t have to wonder if he was a good person. He could be one, no questions asked.

“Then you can get one, lucky bastard,” Chanyeol said. Once again, he was moving away from Baekhyun, which Baekhyun resented, but he was also slipping his hands under Baekhyun’s hoodie, which Baekhyun celebrated. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Baekhyun licked his lips, his own voice dropping.

“I’m gonna kiss you now.”

“Please.”

Their kiss was short, yet intense. Baekhyun had never thought only pressing their lips together, moving sweetly, could feel so passionate— making all of his nerves come alight. He figured it had to do with the amounting tension between them. Chanyeol was terrible at keeping Baekhyun in check. Baekhyun couldn’t care less. Still, the Titan pulled away after what simultaneously felt like seconds and hours at the same time, and Baekhyun was left chasing after him. Chanyeol laughed warmly.

“That’s all we’re getting tonight,” He found himself pecking Baekhyun anyway, already breaking his words, and then pressing his lips against Baekhyun’s shoulder, as if that would serve to stop him. Baekhyun nuzzled the side of Chanyeol’s face, before leaning down on the redhead’s shoulder. “Okay. Now that’s it. Back to slow.”

“You say that every night. This is just gonna keep escalating,” Baekhyun warned. “Not that I mind.”

“It’s only been two nights,” Chanyeol retorted. He took a hand away from Baekhyun’s waist to be able to make him comfortable by making him stretch out his legs onto the bed. It was slightly awkward to hug like this, but Chanyeol seemed intent on holding Baekhyun close. “Let me have this.”

“I’m letting you have all of it,” Baekhyun quipped. “I’m one hundred and fifty percent wooed by you.”

“You keep saying the right things,” Chanyeol groaned, as if it physically pained him. “Please, shut up.”

Baekhyun mimed zipping up his lips and throwing away the key. Chanyeol laughed, even if he hadn’t been even looking at him.

This was nice. Terribly nice. Baekhyun wondered if this was what a Guardian’s life was supposed to be about— immortality, distant threats, friendship, relentless power, and Chanyeol.

It was a damn good deal. If there was something Baekhyun loved, he thought idly, it was good deals.

Baekhyun fell asleep slowly, making a content sound as he did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)


	2. the phoenix that fights itself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> long time no see ;)

**ii. the phoenix that fights itself**

The mirror was foggy with condensation. Baekhyun had to wipe it down a couple of times with his hand to be able to look at his reflection.

He caught his own gaze for one fleeting moment, before his attention was directed to the prominent mole on his thumb. It was a very unique beauty mark, he mused. Once his eyes were on his hands, it was difficult to stop himself from examining them, flexing his fingers experimentally.

They were admittedly nice hands— a bit bony, but the fingers were slender and long. They were almost elegant, if Baekhyun dared to say so himself. His nails were clean and neatly trimmed, which surprised him. Aside from a calloused section where his fingers met his palms, his hands were pretty damn soft. He idly wondered what kind of routine he followed in order for them to be this well-maintained, when his job had been supposedly so harsh. Wearing heavy duty gloves at all times certainly must have had some sort of effect to keep them protected.

Baekhyun admired his own fingers as he trailed them slowly over his own right forearm, where the symbol of an eight-point star with an empty circle in its centre had been etched into his skin. The skin was charcoal black, but it was still shiny, communicating some sort of radiance. The Hunter wondered what it meant, if it had held any meaning at all to him.

He stretched out his left arm next. There, right over the bend of his elbow, rested some sort of winged baby. Mongryong had called it a cherub when he had asked. Its lines were softer— painstakingly dotted to form the angelic figure. It was more solemn than comical, especially if Baekhyun took into account the strip of words right above it.

The world wants to be deceived, so let it be deceived. At least, that’s what Mongryong’s universal translator returned.

How gloomy of him.

Baekhyun guided his hands from his arms to his stomach, looking up to the mirror this time. He was lean, muscles surprisingly distinct and at the same time, barely there. He could spot his ribs a little bit, and his hipbones and collarbones protruded out. He ran a finger over each of the edges slowly, gingerly, shivering due to the contact. His shoulders were broad, but his waist was slender. He wasn’t short, but there was something about his frame that just made him seem small and wispy.

Still, Baekhyun wasn’t really complaining. It was a good body. He sneaked a lingering glance downwards, beyond his stomach— yeah. That was more than okay. In a burst of cheekiness, he twisted his body to be able to check himself out fully. His thighs were thick, and his butt was small, but shapely. Cute. He grinned at his own silliness and then laughed at the mirror image of the rectangular, boxy smile.

Baekhyun just hadn’t really had the chance to see himself like this, ever since he had been reborn. Baths in the ponds of Nessus had been swift, never fully naked, with his eyes always peeled for hostile creatures. In Baekbeom’s house, he had stared briefly at his unfamiliar face before he had asked Chanyeol for a dye job, because that had felt that the most pressing matter. Yesterday, he had showered in this very same bathroom, but he was so eager to meet Chanyeol again that he had hardly taken a moment to contemplate himself further.

There was always something a bit more urgent. Not to mention that, somehow, it felt a bit juvenile for him to explore his body like this— he was twenty-seven. This felt like a new skin he was inhabiting, however. Only now, when it was so early the sky was purple outside, everyone else in the apartment was seemingly asleep, and he was completely alone, he could shower for longer and just— stare if he wanted to.

And he wanted to. Baekhyun looked up to the reflection of his face once more.

His eyes were dark and droopy. They had a strange glint to them whenever he wasn’t paying attention— but it dissipated as soon as he minded it. His hair was now a jet black, messy, wavy, even when wet. He had a button nose, small— but then again, all of his features were small, with the exception of his ears, which were large and uneven, a slight pointiness to them. His cheeks were rounded and squishy in certain angles, but when he faced the mirror in other ways, his face seemed thin. His mouth was very pink, naturally downturned, with a pronounced cupid’s bow. His skin was fair and clear, only blemished by tiny moles scattered across his face and body subtly and prettily.

Leaning over the sink’s counter, Baekhyun poked his cheek, his grin lessening, becoming a smirk instead. He was handsome. Adorable, really. The Gunslinger made a secret vow to make use of these looks as a bargaining chip in the future, because otherwise, they would be wasted.

He paused.

“Was that something you did?” He quietly asked his reflection, grabbing the skin of his cheek and gently pulling on it, stretching it to see how far it would go. When it became painful, he let go, and made various expressions, as if testing them out. “Did you know you looked good?”

He didn’t wear his emotions quite as plainly as Chanyeol or Jongin did, but he didn’t possess Sehun’s aloofness, nor Yixing’s blankness. He wondered if he could make the transition from dangerous and mysterious to cute and sweet as seamlessly as Tao had been able to.

He wondered what other people saw when they looked at him. He wondered if they saw someone with a history and experiences to shape them, or a nice-looking yet empty vessel.

Baekhyun himself, strangely enough, felt like both. Everything he had ever lived through was there, right under the surface, just waiting for him to re-explore. But at the same time, everything could still give him a childlike joy and awe. Very little could phase him, and almost everything could surprise him. Truly, he had the best of both worlds.

And he was growing cold.

Whispering coming from the walls told him other Guardians were probably starting to get up as well. Baekhyun grabbed his towel and dried himself off quickly, already dressing in the armour he had been given. They had a big meeting today, after all.

Baekhyun glanced back at the mirror one last time, his own image distorted by the dripping water. Then, he turned off the lights and stepped out.

Chanyeol was still asleep, practically dead to the world. His deep red hair was sticking all directions, face buried in Baekhyun’s pillow— the only indication the Titan had noticed Baekhyun had gotten up was how he had made a grab for the soft object and hugged it close in the stead of its owner when Baekhyun got away from him.

He looked endearing like this, but granted, everything he did made Chanyeol look endearing to Baekhyun. The redhead was frowning in his sleep, and Baekhyun smiled secretly, reaching out to run his thumb from Chanyeol’s forehead and down the slope of his nose, as if he would do to a baby.

The thought of that made Baekhyun falter for a moment, but he continued as it made Chanyeol’s frown smooth out. Was that something babies enjoyed? Baekhyun did far too many things without thinking about them. Maybe he had done with his nephew— he did have a picture of Taehyung right there on the wall. He must’ve known how to take care of a child.

He enjoyed caressing Chanyeol’s face for a bit longer, until the man began to stir. Not wanting to wake Chanyeol just yet, he pressed a fond kiss to Chanyeol’s forehead, and left the room.

As soon as Baekhyun was out on the hall, Mongryong transmatted by his side, blinking at him in greeting. Baekhyun realised there wasn’t actually anyone out here talking, as he had expected— only they were awake. Huh.

“I could’ve sworn I heard someone out here,” Baekhyun whispered to his Ghost, checking his watch. Almost six in the morning. “Good morning, Mongryong.”

“Good morning, Captain!” Mongryong greeted back with his usual enthusiasm, but at a lower volume, so he wouldn’t disturb anyone. “All Guardians are sound asleep! I detected your movement and surmised you would appreciate company!”

“Oh, so _now_ you remember you have a Captain,” Baekhyun teased Mongryong in a bitter murmur, but he stopped himself short when he realised Yixing was lying on the couch, staring up at him with half-lidded eyes. Baekhyun startled, making Yixing mimic his jump, still sleepy. “Ah! I’m sorry. Did I wake you?”

Yixing shook his head slowly, burrowing further under his blanket. Cat was resting on the arm of the couch, apparently dormant.

“No, the Sun woke me,” The elder Hunter replied. “And I’m a bit jet lagged.”

Ah, that was right. Yixing and Tao had been travelling from the Reef— a kingdom, all the way off in the Asteroid Belt. Something about diplomatic relations. Baekhyun hadn’t really bothered to pay attention to that part. With a smile, Baekhyun walked past the couch, past the dining table, and into their now fully stocked kitchen.

“Since you’re up, want some breakfast?” He offered. “I’m sure I can whip up something easy. Toast?”

“Toast,” Yixing repeated, humming. “I’d love some toast.”

“Toast it is!” Baekhyun declared happily. Then, to Mongryong, in a lower voice: “Mongryong, how do I make toast?”

“Leave it to me, Captain!” Mongryong suggested cheerily. “I may not have hands, but I have become quite adept at manoeuvring without them!”

“I’ll trust you, then,” Baekhyun agreed immediately, more than happy to have someone else deal with the cooking. It didn’t seem like he’d enjoy doing it himself, anyway. He turned instead to Yixing, grinning, and Yixing smiled right back at him. How cute! He had a dimple! Like Chanyeol! “Mongryong will make toast for us!”

“That’s great,” Yixing intoned, yawning halfway through and stretching. “Cat could learn a thing or two.”

“In four hundred and sixty-seven hundred years I haven’t learnt,” Cat, apparently no longer dormant, drawled out. “I’m not about to. Thanks.”

“Almost five hundred years,” Baekhyun realised, raising his eyebrows in surprise as he took a seat on the opposite couch. “Really? You’ve been a Guardian for that long?”

He supposed that, somewhere in the back of his mind, he had imagined Guardians _could_ go on for that long. Mongryong had explained as much, and it was an easy deduction to make, what with them being immortal and being able to be resurrected— as long as they had their Ghosts. But he hadn’t actually imagined any of his friends being that old. Yixing certainly didn’t look that old. No— he looked youthful with his messy blond hair, shaved at the sides, and a single silver hoop on one ear. He had to be in his late twenties at worst.

Yixing must’ve seen the wonder in his face, because he chuckled, wistful. “What? I don’t feel a day over one hundred, if it makes you feel better.”

“How long ago was the Collapse?” Baekhyun asked instead. Yixing grew a bit more serious, biting his lip as he thought about it.

“Those exact records have been lost,” Yixing explained after a moment. “But it can’t be more than five centuries, all in all. Your little Ghost left Earth around the same time, didn’t you, Mongryong?”

“Indeed, Guardian Lay!” Mongryong confirmed as he made loaves of bread levitate towards the counter. “There was only a rumour about a deep space anomaly back then!”

“You’ve been in this City ever since, then?” Baekhyun was calculating in his head as quickly as he could. That deep space anomaly surely had been the Darkness— in the forms of Pyramids? The vision of the void-like structures, teeming with hatred and corruption and yet _nothing_ at the same time, flashed through his mind. Dark clouds. Lightning storms. Devastation. A woman under a veil. Ice. A moon.

Baekhyun shook his head, playing it off as if he was messing up his hair. Yixing, blessedly, had been rubbing his eyes, and neither Cat nor Mongryong seemed to be looking. All the better. He didn’t think he had the acting skills to hide from someone who had lived for almost five hundred years.

_What do you need to hide?_

“Yeah. I was rezz’ed not too far from here, luckily,” Yixing was saying then. “But we still had to walk quite a bit. It was so soon after the Collapse, we didn’t even have access to ships yet. We came across many small settlements— but eventually, everyone migrated to the Last City. There wasn’t anyone left outside the Walls before the Red Legion’s invasion.”

“Except for my brother.” Baekhyun quipped with a small smirk. Yixing laughed softly.

“Except for your brother,” He conceded. “But that was an open secret. It’s –or it was— illegal to leave the City, for most civilians, let alone go live somewhere else. I think only Kris was certain on where your brother’s Farm was.”

“Why him?”

“You probably told him,” Yixing shrugged. “I don’t know. You can ask him.”

Baekhyun pouted, dissatisfied at the deflection. He would have time to hassle Kris later about it, anyway. There were too many things —too many stories— he had to learn.

“Then what can I ask you, Yixing?” He mused aloud, inflating his cheeks and deflating them with a pop once he had an idea. “Oh! I know. Where did you get your nickname from?”

Yixing blinked and tilted his head to the side. “My nickname? What nickname?”

“You know— Lay. Everyone called you that,” Baekhyun reminded the other Hunter. “A bunch of you have nicknames. Even Junmyeon and Minseok.” The calculated slip of his tongue was followed by a gasp without much affectation. “Oops, I meant Suho and Xiumin.”

Yixing, who had been alarmed for a couple of seconds, pursed his lips with hardly concealed amusement and annoyance at Baekhyun.

“One week old and you’re already so sassy,” The Arcstrider remarked. “I should’ve known a little time on the other side wouldn’t be enough to keep you down, Baekhyunnie.”

“It’s two weeks, mind you,” He batted his eyelashes at Yixing with exaggerated coyness. “Please tell me?”

“There’s not much to it, really,” Yixing groaned, making his neck crick as he stretched again. “All Guardians used to be someone before our Ghosts found us. In most cases, we don’t remember our lives before that, but maybe you have some clues. An identification card, a name tag, a keepsake. A little Ghost who can feed you your memories at a moment’s notice—”

“—I do not appreciate barbs against me, Guardian Lay!” Mongryong chimed in happily, levitating a knife over butter shakily.

“Duly noted,” Yixing continued without missing a beat. “The world used to be a more unforgiving place. Nobody trusted just anyone with something as their true name, when others would kill to have one. Turns out going around without an identity can be a little rough for the psyche.”

“Or refreshing,” Baekhyun retorted, for the sake of reacting. He wasn’t able to get Hendery’s delighted expression out of his mind, at being given something so simple as a name. It made him feel guilty once more for intentionally keeping himself from his own identity. “Depends on the Guardian.”

“Definitely depends,” Yixing agreed. “But it became a tradition. Everyone knew you by a name, but that wasn’t necessarily who you were. Looking back to the past in any way eventually became taboo. Now, I guess to some, it’s less meaningful. The Speaker and the Vanguard have been losing authority for… A while now, anyway.”

“But I guess the oldies like you still like traditions,” Baekhyun teased good-naturedly, making Yixing chuckle. Mongryong was levitating a couple of freshly made pieces of toast to them, and he grinned at his Ghost. “Thank you, Mongryong!”

“Thank you, Mongryong,” Yixing echoed, taking a bite of his own toast and humming in appreciation. “This is really good!”

“There are very little ways to mess up toast, Guardian Lay!” Mongryong exclaimed.

Baekhyun and Yixing enjoyed their toasts with some small talk with Cat and Mongryong, mostly around names and Guardian etiquette. If someone had offered you their real name, it was best to keep it to yourself. Kyungsoo, Jongin, and Jongdae all went by different names in public— D.O, Kai, and Chen. For most Guardians, the past was better left in the past. The Crucible was the most honourable way to settle scores. Factions had brought more trouble to the Last City than actual help. Every planet in the system was infested with hostile aliens, but allies could be made in the Reef and, for the more criminally inclined, in the Tangled Shore. The things Yixing got up to— a whole lot of people watching, a little bit of diplomacy, and in his free time, music was his favourite thing.

“I came over to jam with you so many times, we’d take turns on the piano,” The blond confessed, reminiscent, and his eyes widened as he realised he was breaking his own rule. “No— forget that.”

Baekhyun smirked at him. “Like I’m letting this go. Too late, Yixing! You’ve slipped. Now tell me— you know how to play the piano? _I_ know how to play the piano?”

Yixing smiled, his charming dimple showing as he indulged Baekhyun.

“I do know how to play the piano,” The Hunter admitted. “But you? Well, you knew how to. You said your mum wanted you to have a non-violent activity in your life. I suppose that’s gone, now.”

“My procedural memory is almost completely intact,” Baekhyun countered immediately, smirk growing smug as he winked at Mongryong. Yixing raised an eyebrow at him, bemused. “I bet you I still can do it.”

“I believe in you and your skills, Captain!” Mongryong chimed in cheerily. Cat snorted: “I guess we’ve seen weirder things?”

“I don’t really bet with the likes of you, Skulking Fox,” Yixing answered, almost like out of habit. It felt familiar to Baekhyun, and with how Yixing’s expression softened, Baekhyun assumed it was. “But you’re welcome to try.”

Baekhyun made a show of disapproving of this comment, clicking his tongue and grumbling even if he was already standing up and walking over to the piano and taking a seat on its bench, pointedly ignoring the photographs hung above it. He realised sitting here didn’t feel particularly recognisable— there was no strange emotion bubbling up, like when he had heard of his brother, or when he had seen Kris, or even Yixing himself.

Every single time Chanyeol so much as looked at him.

No. Sitting at this piano didn’t feel special. But then again, neither had flying a ship, nor walking through this apartment. Maybe he could surprise himself— and Yixing.

Baekhyun’s hands hovered over the keys, and he very lightly, he placed his fingers over some of them. Yixing and their Ghosts were watching intently, and Baekhyun heard the blond’s breath hitch. His own heart was beating a little bit faster. He almost didn’t dare to play anything at all, but the tune was already there, taking shape in his head— another familiar thing, itching to be played.

He touched a note gently, testing its sound. Then, with confidence, Baekhyun slammed all of his fingers as hard as he could over the keys, so loudly that it startled Yixing into cursing and falling off the couch, sent Cat into screeching, and Mongryong spontaneously shouting: “Intruder alert!”. There was confused mumbling and bumps coming from other rooms, and Baekhyun couldn’t help the mischievous cackle that escaped him as Yixing ran a hand through his face, relieved.

“For Traveller’s sake, Baekhyun,” The elder Hunter sighed out, laughing nervously and massaging his chest next. “Fuck.”

“That was not very nice, Captain!” Mongryong remarked happily.

“Very in character, though.” Cat muttered morosely.

Baekhyun merely snickered, terribly pleased with himself, his laughter only growing again when Chanyeol, with puffy eyes, bed hair out of control, and somehow, out of breath, stumbled from the hall, followed closely by an equally bleary-eyed Jongin and a somehow-already-armed-and-ready Kyungsoo.

“What was that?!” Chanyeol demanded, voice scratchy with sleep. “Is it the Red Legion?!”

“You’re so over the top, for the love of the Traveller!” Jongdae’s voice carried over from behind the trio of Titans. “Explain to me— how would that even happen?”

“How did it happen the first time?” Chanyeol snapped, and then grumbled: “Don’t answer that.”

“What are you two doing?” Kyungsoo questioned, lowering his sidearm with a frown.

“We were playing the piano!” Baekhyun said as innocently as possible, but his wide grin was certainly betraying him.

“You play terribly,” Jongin chided, shoulders dropping as he relaxed and walked into the living room to help Yixing up. Kyungsoo moved into the kitchen, as if nothing had happened, even if he was clicking his tongue in displeasure.

Chanyeol leaned against the wall, rubbing his eyes with one hand. Okay. Baekhyun felt a slight twinge of guilt. That is, until Chanyeol looked up and smiled at him, fond and sleepy. The guilt was gone, replaced by warmth.

“Baekhyunnie here awoke in a playful mood,” Yixing teased good-naturedly. “Very energetic.”

“Good,” Kyungsoo replied. “We’re gonna need that energy. Who wants breakfast?”

“Oh, I so want some breakfast,” Jongin moaned, and it was sweet, how fast Kyungsoo’s expression softened into a heart-shaped smile. “Please, Kyungja.”

“That is the cutest nickname,” Baekhyun whined, as if pained. “You two make such a cute couple.”

“Such relationship goals,” Sehun was chiming in as he put a hand over Chanyeol’s shoulder, in such a deadpan voice that Baekhyun had to snort. “Chanyeol and Baekhyun are gonna have to step up their game if they want to keep the master bedroom.”

“We’re taking it slow.” Chanyeol and Baekhyun answered at the same time, the Sunbreaker attempting to be stern while the Gunslinger couldn’t hide his amusement. They shared a complicit look, and almost everybody groaned, making them flush.

“I cannot convey my endeared disgust in an appropriate manner!” Mongryong declared cheerily. Jongdae cackled.

“You’re such a mood, Mongryong,” The Warlock commented. “Well, at least we’re all awake now, and right on time— wait. Where’s Tao?”

“I’m right here,” The laziest drawl Baekhyun had ever heard in his entire two weeks of rebirth called back, in the form of Tao wrapping himself around Sehun like a kitten, and Sehun allowing it. They looked good— Sehun with his now bright orange hair, and Tao, surprisingly, now had caramel-coloured strands. He must’ve dyed it once Baekhyun had gone to bed. “Why are you making so much noise?”

“The question is why didn’t you get up faster,” Chanyeol sighed, and he was walking towards— Baekhyun! Oh! That was him! Yes! Baekhyun perked up, as Chanyeol possibly took the most uncomfortable spot— right next to Baekhyun, on the piano’s bench. He was too big for it. “We could’ve been under attack.”

“Please,” Tao practically purred against Sehun’s shoulder. “You totally had it handled.”

“Because Baekhyun isn’t actually a threat.” Chanyeol deadpanned.

“It’s true,” Baekhyun agreed, turning around fully and bumping shoulders with Chanyeol. “I’m like a puppy.”

“We have a meeting in an hour, anyway,” Jongdae reminded them. “The Vanguard is gonna be ready for us. We should be ready for them. We need breakfast!”

“It’d be easier to cook if the kitchen wasn’t such a mess,” Kyungsoo grumbled. “Who made toast like this?”

Chaos. Eight men and their eight Ghosts in one apartment were nothing but chaos.

The hour had passed by quickly, in a flurry of activity— short showers that involved a lot of screaming, the smell of rice and vegetable omelettes being whipped at an impressive speed by Kyungsoo, lots of loud conversation, picking out weapons and armour, Baekhyun arguing that he would take this comfortable poncho or go naked, and one single stolen kiss in the bathroom with Chanyeol as Jongdae banged on the door to use it.

Once they had gone out, Baekhyun dared Sehun and Jongin to a race down the stairs, to see if they could beat the elevator, Chanyeol chasing after them begging for Baekhyun to stop skipping steps like that. Baekhyun had indeed taken a tumble somewhere on the sixth floor, but Jongin’s and Sehun’s high pitched laughter and Chanyeol trying his best not to laugh as well had been worth it, even if his face burnt with embarrassment. They had not beat the elevator— Kyungsoo and Jongdae were waiting for them with smug expressions, while Yixing and Tao had already taken to the street, discussing something seriously on their own.

The street hadn’t been much quieter. Baekhyun had insisted on giving a rendition of Mongryong’s and his theme song, acapella, making Chanyeol and Kyungsoo tease him constantly, while Jongin took Baekhyun’s side and promised they would be avenged in the Crucible. Jongdae had quickly joined Kyungsoo and Chanyeol then, making Sehun take Baekhyun’s side as well, as Tao pleaded them not to take things so seriously and Yixing led them like a mother led her baby ducklings.

They were loud as mock threats and plans for the Crucible were thrown across their group. They were bright as their armours and robes and capes shone under the sunlight. They were dangerous as Baekhyun’s hand hovered over his hand cannon, and everyone who was in the street turned to watch them.

Baekhyun wondered what these people saw. Honestly, most of them looked like they had seen a ghost.

Their banter didn’t die down as they stepped into the reconstructing Tower, and through steps to go to the bazaar Baekhyun had merely glanced at yesterday and into the courtyard. Winding railings and hidden steps that were in no way intuitive took them to a large crystal office, from where they could see the Traveller in all its broken glory. It was good, because it was easier not to get distracted by the Traveller’s energy and beauty if it was through glass and behind walls.

The office itself was— messy. Well lived in, was the nicest way Baekhyun thought of putting it. He remembered the Commander mentioning the three of them had been sleeping here. Truly, this wouldn’t do. They would have to make space for them in the apartment.

“Ah, Guardians,” Commander Junmyeon greeted them with a bright smile, sitting at the desk, working on the screen and monitor he had there. He looked perfectly fine with the chaos around them. “Right on time. Please, make yourselves comfortable.”

“Forgive the mess,” Minseok was grumbling, as he smoothed down the flimsy sheets of their three futons. It was a bit strange, seeing such an ethereal man do something so domestic, but there was little glamour in leadership, Baekhyun supposed. “You’re the only people we have allowed in here. It’s our bedroom, after all.”

“We could’ve done this in the courtyard,” Tao offered, eyes widening a little in question when Kris shook his head. “Why not?”

“What we need to discuss is too confidential to talk about in the open like that,” Kris answered, from where he was sitting on a sofa, legs spread out as far as they could go. “We wouldn’t even want Donghae to overhear us. For now.”

“You’re gonna fuel the rumours going around the streets,” Sehun observed as he took a seat on a nearby couch. “They’re calling us the Vanguard’s clan.”

Junmyeon merely hummed, as if he wasn’t surprised or bothered by this at all. “That’s a mouthful. We’ll need a better name than that.”

“You’re not gonna deny the favouritism, then?” Jongdae wondered, taking upon himself to help Minseok, picking up discarded packets and other trash.

“No,” Junmyeon replied easily. “The previous Vanguard had their favourites, too. We even counted ourselves among them.”

“Plus, we wouldn’t waste a chance like this,” Minseok muttered as he passed Baekhyun’s side to fetch the tomes right behind the Hunter, but it was so low it could’ve been dismissed easily— if Baekhyun hadn’t been listening. Minseok mistook Baekhyun’s attentive gaze as an offer to help, because the Gunslinger found himself with an armful of books only a moment later. “Here, Baekhyun. Did you check your test results?”

“Not yet, Min— Xiumin,” Baekhyun answered, trying to eye the title of the book on top of his pile. “What do I do with these?”

“Take them to the desk, please.”

“Guardians,” Junmyeon was speaking up then, commanding their attention. “I’m sorry we have only met for official business so far, since the end of the war. You know our work is never done. Have you been filled in?”

“Only sparsely, I’m afraid, sir,” Kyungsoo admitted.

“Didn’t I tell you everything you need to know?” Baekhyun questioned, just for the sake of it, voice straining as he wobbled towards the desk. At least Minseok was just as pinched as he was.

“We could use an official, Vanguard-issued, we-all-have-the-same-information rundown, to be honest,” Jongin added, hesitating for one second before tacking on a: “All we’ve heard is from Sehun and Baekhyun. Hunters tend to embellish their stories.”

The collective protesting was very loud.

“Excuse me?” Baekhyun yelled. “I did sound effects for you!”

“Why would I ever lie to you?” Sehun whined, offended.

“Not all Hunters, man,” Yixing interjected, disappointment clear in his tone. “Not all Hunters.”

“Leave your disrespect at the door, Guardian Kai,” Kris scolded, and Jongin indeed seemed very chastised, as he raised his hands in surrender and gave them wide eyes. “Typical Titan.”

“Okay,” Junmyeon interrupted loudly, glaring at Kris and giving Chanyeol and Kyungsoo, who both looked ready to retort, a placating smile. “Okay. No Guardian class is better than the other, can we agree on this? That is not a question, that is an order. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. Hunters can’t help but to be notorious liars.”

“This is absolute slander,” Kris objected once again. “We don’t care enough to lie.”

“That’s enough,” It was the Commander’s Ghost who spoke up then, her voice deep and stern, like that of an old woman’s. She was a Ghost of an onyx colour, with intricate golden details and a sapphire gem over her eye. She was true royalty. And like a queen, she commanded their attention. “You may not remember the horrors we face, but we do. Your petty squabbling is an unwelcome distraction.”

“We apologise, Byul,” Toben spoke for Chanyeol sincerely, the Sunbreaker pursing his lips as he caught Baekhyun’s gaze, serious. “It’s clear that the gravity of what we face hasn’t dawned on all of us.”

“You’re starting to worry me,” Tao confessed, eyes quickly alternating from Guardian to Guardian. “Exactly what did we miss?”

“Let’s start from where we all left off, shall we?” Junmyeon suggested. He nodded at Byul, who took centre stage in the middle of the office— over the futons. She began projecting something with her Light, blinding Baekhyun momentarily. It was a hologram of the Sun, and the Almighty attached to it. Baekhyun gaped up at the representation of the ship. It felt so distant.

“Dismantling the Almighty was a key part of our plan to retake the Last City from the Red Legion,” Junmyeon continued, pleased by their silence. “We couldn’t destroy it without blowing up our Sun, as you may recall, so our only option was rendering it useless for the Cabal— and thanks to Baekhyun Byun and his sacrifice, we achieved this goal.”

Ah, yeah. Baekhyun had probably done that. Mongryong had mentioned it, and Baekhyun smirked at Jongdae when the Warlock winked at him. But he couldn’t remember, even if the simple projection of the Almighty stirred something within him. This would be a memory he would have to revisit.

He looked over to Chanyeol. The Titan was staring at him, face gloomy and grave still, but he looked down when Baekhyun searched for his eyes. Yeah— definitely warranted a revisit.

“The Almighty was supposed to stay put as a sunside junkyard at best,” Kris continued from his spot on the sofa. “Unfortunately, driving the Red Legion into a corner has brought us an unexpected consequence. When Park and Oh went to do some recon, they might’ve found us Byun again, but the Red Legion was also there. Making sure their own ship has no navigation nor power.”

Byul’s hologram pulled away from the Almighty, to be able to show off the whole Solar System— or at least, until Earth, the Traveller’s shape over it making it unmistakeable.

“The obvious question is _why,_ of course,” Kris sighed, as if this was more inconvenient than anything else. “And also, why is the Almighty not falling right into the Sun’s gravitational pull and instead… Well. I don’t want to spoil the surprise. Sehun?”

“Right,” The Nightstalker stepped forward after a moment, clearing his throat. “What Vivi and I pulled from their consoles is that somehow, some Psions in the Red Legion managed to set one final emergency course in case everything else failed. So, we should expect an impact on Earth. Specifically, the Last City. More specifically, over the Traveller.”

There was a heavy silence, until Kyungsoo scoffed.

“If they can’t have the Traveller, then no one can?” The Striker mused. “How long do we have?”

“Due to its mechanical malfunctions, it’s going extremely fast, but not as fast as a ship,” RouRou was the one to respond. “We have approximately three months before it hits us.”

“Do we have the means to do something about it before that deadline passes?” Chanyeol asked, crossing his arms over his chest. Junmyeon shook his head.

“No,” The Commander answered, a sombre tone and shadow taking over his expression. “All our resources are destined to rebuilding and outreach efforts. We don’t have a weapon big enough to shoot the Almighty out of the sky, nor the time to build one.”

Well, that was unfortunate. An impact like that would decimate the Last City, as large and endless as it seemed from the large windows of the office. Baekhyun cursed inwardly as he looked out longingly. He had wanted a tour.

“Commander,” Jongin’s voice dragged Baekhyun’s attention back to the others. The blue-haired Titan looked determined. “We _do_ have a weapon big enough for the Almighty.”

They did? Baekhyun raised his eyebrows. Apparently, the Vanguard found this just as surprising as Baekhyun himself.

“The last time we had any contact with Rasputin was in Io, and it wasn’t precisely pleasant, was it?” Minseok apparently reminded Jongin. “What makes you think he’ll help us out?”

Baekhyun wished really hard for Mongryong to develop telepathy and explain to him who Rasputin was. Mongryong kept telling him their neural connection hadn’t reached that level _yet_ — but that yet implied future telepathy.

The Hunter’s hand went to his neck on instinct, went he felt something— it felt as if something was being uploaded to him. Oh! That was definitely an upload. Maybe Mongryong and he had achieved _some_ sort of telepathy, as Mongryong just blinked at his Captain.

Rasputin. Warmind. The greatest military artificial intelligence ever designed. Quite the temperamental guy, apparently. Communicated in his own crypto-language or music— and annihilated anyone and anything who tried to approach him. From what Mongryong had gathered, the Warmind had abandoned its objective to protect Humanity at all costs a long time ago. Baekhyun wondered why.

_You know why._

Baekhyun shook his head, messing with his black fringe as he turned his focus back to the conversation.

“—It’s risky, I’ll admit to it,” Jongin was saying, earnest and resolute. “It might be a waste of time we don’t have, but if it pans out— if it pans out, oh, what an ally we would have gained.”

“Would you even know where to start, Kai?” Minseok questioned, unconvinced. Jongin was undeterred, nodding almost immediately.

“Taemin Bray and I have made contact,” The Sentinel revealed, and he must’ve said something quite shocking, with how the Vanguard –and truly, every Guardian and Ghost but Baekhyun and Mongryong— reacted, with gasping and wide eyes. “He’s making his way into the Mindlab in Mars, and I plan to join him.”

There was a frown on Kyungsoo’s brow as he stared up at his lover, but the emotions poured into were undecipherable to Baekhyun. He watched them with curiosity anyway— how Jongin looked forward to the Vanguard, shoulders squared and expression neutral and serious, and Kyungsoo watched him, almost slumping with worry.

Interesting.

“Taemin Bray is a risk within itself,” Kris remarked, and this only made Baekhyun more interested. Jongin looked ready to argue, but then Kris added: “I think you should go to him, Kai, if you think it might work.”

Jongin, mouth hanging open, faltered before recuperating. “I-I thought the Vanguard didn’t agree with Taemin Bray?”

“That was your old Vanguard. We’re a new, cool Vanguard,” Junmyeon joked, chuckling. “To be honest, we don’t have a better idea. We’re running on fumes here. We’re well aware of your accomplishments during the SIVA crisis and your breakthroughs in Io. If you think Taemin and you might have a chance at convincing Rasputin of helping us, you’re more than welcome to try.”

Jongin blinked and pouted. He looked like he had been gearing up to defend this Taemin Bray to death, and now that he didn’t have to, he looked a bit lost. Kyungsoo patted his back.

“Just don’t go alone,” Minseok suggested. He raised an elegant eyebrow, raising his chin to gesture at Kyungsoo. “How do you like the cold of Hellas Basin, D.O?”

“It’s my favourite type of weather, sir,” Kyungsoo deadpanned drily, but at least he looked a little bit more relaxed.

“It’s settled, then,” Minseok clapped his hands. “Guardian Kai and Guardian D.O will join Taemin Bray in Mars and attempt contact with Rasputin.”

“I don’t need to explain to any of you how important it is that you’re discrete about this,” Junmyeon began again, gesturing to the hologram of the Almighty and its direct path towards the Traveller. “The last thing we need right now is a mass exodus in a panic. The news of the Almighty doesn’t leave this room until we have dealt with it accordingly.”

“You have our word, Commander,” Chanyeol promised in behalf of the group. “No one will know until we have a solution.”

“Great!” Junmyeon sighed, and Byul’s projection dissipated and turned instead into— rocks. They were asteroids, but they were held together. This had to be the Reef. “There’s nothing else we can do in the meantime on that front, so let’s move on. Lay and Tao brings us interesting news from the Reef.”

“That, we do,” Yixing acquiesced. “We managed convincing Yoona Venj of the renewed strength of the Last City. She let go of whatever Guardians had been stranded there during the Red War as an act of good faith, so all in all, it was a successful mission.”

“She asked for something in return, though,” Tao chimed in. “She has reason to believe there’s unrest in the Prison of Elders and is unsure that the Warden will be able to control the situation when it comes to a head. She mentioned the Scorned Barons.”

“Who are the Scorned Barons?” Chanyeol asked. Yixing sighed.

“High-ranking Fallen,” The senior Hunter relayed vaguely. “Actually, I’m not certain they’re quite Fallen now. They terrorised the Reef after the Taken War, to the point that Yoona had to ask for our help. Kris and I and a few others hunted them down and put them in jail.”

“What does Yoona fear?” Minseok wondered.

“She fears a riot they’ll be unable to manage,” Tao continued. “Given how the Prison is a shared effort, we might owe her a little help.”

“She didn’t have to keep Guardians as hostages in case we lost the War,” Junmyeon snarked, but his smile was bright as he shrugged. “But I suppose it cannot hurt. If she thinks we can help her stop a Scorn riot, then we shall do that. _If_ and _when_ it happens.”

“Oh, it’ll happen,” Kris predicted, huffing. “Just make sure you don’t send any of our original fireteam to deal with it. Those creatures are truly— vengeful.”

“That is fine,” Junmyeon agreed. “D.O and Chen won’t get close to the Prison, either. We all know what happened the last time.”

Jongdae was squawking, while Kyungsoo flushed. By their side, Chanyeol at least looked a bit happier, stifling laughter.

“We get cryo-frozen one time by the inmates, and you think we’re incapable of handling them?” The Warlock retorted, clearly offended. Baekhyun’s lips quirked up, as he tried to imagine it. It felt familiar. “We’ve dealt with worse! Way worse!”

“We need you in another front, Chen,” Minseok was smiling comfortingly at the Stormcaller, who, under his Vanguard’s watchful gaze, straightened up almost comically. “You, my friend, are going to fetch us Luhan— and you won’t take a no for an answer this time.”

The way Jongdae deflated was hilarious to Baekhyun, who couldn’t help but to snicker. He wasn’t alone in his laughter, because Chanyeol snorted and tried to mask it as a cough. Their eyes met with complicity once more, as Jongdae began actually whining.

“Why!” The Warlock complained loudly. “Why must I go get him? Plus, how do we know he’s in our reality, anyway? We’re fine without him. He’s probably gone into an alternate timeline or something.”

“Actually, Guardian Chen, that is impossible!” Mongryong corrected cheerfully. “Guardian Luhan surrendered his portal opening device to the Captain, and therefore, cannot travel between realities in a non-cumbersome manner!”

“Excuse me, Luhan did _what_?” Chanyeol’s voice was booming all of the sudden, eyes widening considerably. Baekhyun was just as flabbergasted. Minseok wasn’t faring much better, suddenly looking much younger in the second he made a face of surprise. Sehun laughed nervously, as Yixing sighed in a long-suffering manner and Tao frowned in confusion. “What do you mean Luhan surrendered his portals to Baekhyun?!”

“I can make portals?” Baekhyun questioned his Ghost.

“Yes, you can, and you have!” Mongryong chirped. “The dice trio! You used them to alter time and space in order to fool—” Mongryong glitched, making a robotic sound for a moment. “Oops! I have encountered interference! Never mind! You travelled through time, Captain!”

“When was this?!” Chanyeol demanded.

“Ohhh, so that’s what the dice are for!” Baekhyun snapped his fingers, nodding vigorously. “Nice! Luhan and I must be really good friends.”

“Baekhyun Byun,” Kris began with a tired tone and rubbing his temples with closed eyes as if Baekhyun gave him a headache, and wow, rude. He was even scowling! “What the fuck did you do?”

“I don’t know! I haven’t gotten to chapter fourteen of my memories yet,” Baekhyun countered. “But hey, don’t worry about it. It wasn’t anything bad, clearly! We’re all alive!”

“I’m gonna kill Luhan myself.” Kris declared darkly.

“Count me in.” Chanyeol stated with a frown that was very attractive. Minseok gave Junmyeon a look once his shock wore off, which the Titan corresponded with a roll of his eyes. The man then turned to Jongdae again, pasting a smile on his face.

“If Luhan can’t create portals at whim, he’s going to be in Mercury, which has been decimated anyway,” Junmyeon told the Warlock almost placatingly. “You won’t have much terrain to cover. There’s a high chance he’ll be taking refuge with his followers in the Lighthouse— if it’s still standing.”

“Understood,” Jongdae conceded with a heavy breath, like _anything_ would have been preferable. “I’ll get us Luhan, then.”

“Hey, if you need company, I’m in,” Baekhyun offered. “I wanna see this Luhan guy up close. Also, I’d rather not hold onto those dice. They give me bad vibes, anyway.”

“No, no, no,” Kris immediately denied. “You, little fox, are staying right here with me. You’re going to train before I let you out on the field. My Hunters won’t go unprepared. Sehun, you’ll join us too.”

“If I must,” Sehun mumbled, but it was more defensive than anything. He had told Baekhyun, after all, he was relatively new to this Guardian business anyway.

“Besides, I need an assistant to help me go through all these forbidden tomes about the Darkness and the Collapse,” Minseok added with a grin. “And who better than you, Baekhyun, the harbinger of doom?”

“Ouch,” Baekhyun scrunched up his nose. “One Pyramid hardly counts as doom!”

“Pyramid?” Tao echoed, alarmed all of the sudden for a reason Baekhyun could not place.

“That brings us to our biggest problem,” Junmyeon said, and Byul’s projection changed once more, to the figure of— the Moon. “Baekhyun has brought our attention to an ancient artefact, hidden by the Hive themselves in Luna inside a fortress. A fortress the previous Vanguard knew of but didn’t know its purpose. Baekhyun?”

“Right,” Baekhyun understood the prompting, and tried to gather his thoughts. “This fortress… It’s a keep. It’s scarlet.”

“Codename Scarlet Keep!” Mongryong chimed in happily as Baekhyun stalled. Baekhyun nodded in agreement quickly.

“Yes! The Scarlet Keep.” Baekhyun repeated. When he continued, he was sullen and thoughtful in spite of himself. He wanted to cover everything. “I had… I had been there before. It somehow called to me. I think that might’ve been… Where I was infected before. Would that make sense?”

“You mentioned the Moon, before,” Chanyeol answered quietly when no one else said anything. “But you never specified.”

“It has to be that place, then,” Baekhyun took his thumb to his mouth, nibbling on it for a second in contemplation. “We went in without any issues. It was practically empty, and it went down, down, and down. There were these… Creatures. Phantoms. They were real, but they weren’t real. They didn’t try to attack us or anything, they just… Whispered.”

The silence was so tense, it could’ve been sliced through with a knife. Baekhyun wondered if any of this had any meaning to them. Other than trepidation, the creatures hadn’t meant much to him.

“Eventually, we came across this Pyramid,” The Gunslinger continued. “And I kid you not, it was alive with energy and power. Mongryong felt— how did you feel, Mongryong?”

“Like it wanted to devour my Light, Captain!”

“Yeah,” Baekhyun assented. “And it showed _me_ some sort of vision. There’s an army of those Pyramids, somewhere not too far away, and… They’re coming from the Traveller.”

“These Pyramids are an old, old enemy,” Minseok mentioned when Baekhyun paused. “We don’t know much about them, but we know somehow they were involved in the Collapse. Not much has survived from those times, but they’re linked intrinsically to the Darkness. They’re its… Emissaries, perhaps.”

“Is there any way to destroy it?” Chanyeol asked. If he hadn’t looked so surly, Baekhyun would’ve maybe laughed. Of course there wasn’t.

“We don’t know that,” Minseok responded instead. “The only reason we know it exists at all is because Baekhyun has encountered it… Twice.”

“Mongryong,” Byul called the younger Ghost’s name. “Do you think you could represent the Pyramid for the rest of us?”

Mongryong perked up. “Oh! Absolutely not, Wise Ghost Byul! I am afraid those memories, both in my hard drive and in the Captain’s own, are riddled in interference! Also, I blacked out with the terror I felt!”

“You could be less cheerful about it, Mongryong,” Baekhyun scolded without heat, as he patted his armour as if that would make a marker appear. “Does anyone have something I could draw with?”

“There’s a marker on the drawer,” Junmyeon provided, watching Baekhyun as the Hunter moved towards the back of the desk, easily finding the marker in question, and startling when Baekhyun turned to the window. “We have a perfectly good board over—”

Too late. Baekhyun was drawing over the window with the marker, making sure that the Pyramid was aligned with the Traveller, overlapping a part of its broken figure. One line, another, and then another. A triangle.

“That’s it?” Sehun spoke up, unimpressed. Baekhyun blushed.

“You weren’t there!” He retorted. “It’s scary as fuck, alright? All black. Sharp. Evil. It watched me watch it. We left as soon as it let us leave.”

“As soon as it let you leave?” Sehun parroted. “What does that even mean?”

“It means none of us is approaching it, or letting anyone else approach it, until we have an idea of its nature,” Junmyeon sentenced, watching Baekhyun’s drawing with a frown. He turned to Chanyeol. “You have a way of contacting Sunhee Lee, don’t you, Chanyeol?”

The Sunbreaker hesitated for a moment, flickering his eyes towards Baekhyun, but then nodding. “Yes, sir. Should I disturb her?”

Junmyeon nodded. “We need as many witnesses of the Darkness as we can possibly find, in whatever measure they have encountered it. Only through these means we’ll manage to form a coherent thought— before that thing in the Moon awakens fully.”

Baekhyun gazed up at his crude triangle, as Junmyeon continued to talk, Kris and Minseok chiming in as they swore the Guardians to secrecy, to discretion, to diligence. Their voices seemed to fade out for a moment, and since Baekhyun had no need to add anything, he chose to focus on his drawing until his eyesight became blurry.

_I’m already up. Get on with the programme._

“So, what’s your name, doc?”

“Me?” The same woman who had drawn Baekhyun’s blood the day before answered, meeting Baekhyun’s eyes briefly with a smile, then looking down at the needle she was preparing again. “You can call me IU.”

“IU,” He echoed, for the sake of it, humming afterwards. “Doctor IU. I like it. I’m Baekhyun.”

“I know.” IU replied, though she seemed amused rather than annoyed.

Their conversation died after that, and Baekhyun guessed she was a little embarrassed. After all, here he was, getting tested in such an unpleasant manner for the second time in a row, because she had been careless— his blood sample had been tossed out accidentally, and IU hadn’t realised she hadn’t even gotten the chance to get results on it until Baekhyun was in her makeshift clinic, Chanyeol in tow, asking for them.

He supposed he could forgive her on the account on how overworked she seemed. It was only her here, and one blood test hardly seemed important when every bed was occupied with people in different levels of pain and injury. She had still apologised, and then, just like the day before, checked his eyes for stars and asked him about hearing voices.

“Just the voice of my own thoughts,” Baekhyun had answered, blinking away a bunch of times after being flashed by her Ghost. “And I think that’s normal.”

A fun fact about Chanyeol— outside of the battlefield, he was apparently very squeamish. He was extremely quiet as IU dug the needle into Baekhyun’s arm, and as Baekhyun turned away and looked at the Titan instead, he saw he was very pale, too.

“Are you okay?” He asked. Chanyeol laughed nervously.

“I should be asking you that,” The redhead remarked, tone a bit hysterical, but he squeezed Baekhyun’s hand reassuringly. “You’re the one who’s getting his blood drawn.”

“You’re the one who looks like he’s about to pass out,” Baekhyun countered playfully. “It’s not that much blood, anyway.”

“Are you gonna be able to play Crucible after this?” Chanyeol wondered worriedly. “No, why am I asking you? You have zero self-preservation skills. Doctor, is he gonna be able to play Crucible after this?”

“It’s only two millimetres,” IU responded as Baekhyun pouted at Chanyeol. She was already done and pressing cotton over the tiny wound. “Just have some juice beforehand.”

“I’ll have some juice, then,” Baekhyun dismissed easily. “Because I have at least a five on self-preservation skills.”

“On a scale of one to a thousand.” Chanyeol retorted, squeezing his hand again as Baekhyun gasped in indignation. When IU had placed a band-aid over the spot she had prickled, Baekhyun turned his head back to her, and smiled brightly, Chanyeol long forgotten.

“I’ll return tomorrow, then,” He said, waiting for her confirmation. IU sighed tiredly but nodded.

“This time, I won’t have lost it,” She promised him. “I don’t know how it happened. I thought of you all day after you left.”

“Wow, forward,” Baekhyun quipped coyly. “I’m sorry, you’re cute and all, but I’m looking to make Chanyeol my boyfriend.”

Baekhyun wondered who blushed the hardest— Chanyeol, who was turning the same shade of red as his hair as he choked on air and shuffled his feet and still didn’t let go of Baekhyun’s hand, or IU, who cleared her throat pointedly as she bravely met his eyes.

“Good for you, but I meant it because this is pretty non-standard,” IU explained herself. She gestured around. “I hardly leave this clinic nowadays. Since you two belong to the Vanguard’s clan, why don’t you tell them to assign more medics here?”

“We’ll put a word in with the Commander,” Chanyeol assured her, suddenly very eager to leave, without denying the claims of the Vanguard’s clan. “Thanks for everything, doctor.”

As soon as they had stepped out, still hand in hand much to Baekhyun’s delight, Chanyeol looked around the hall to make sure they were alone. He had sent out Toben and Mongryong ahead with the others, telling them they would meet at Bannerfall while he accompanied Baekhyun.

It was a poor excuse to be with Baekhyun without company. Jongdae had fake gagged multiple times as they walked away, while Sehun and Jongin teased them raucously and Tao begged them to let Chanyeol and Baekhyun be.

“So, looking to make me your boyfriend?” Chanyeol chuckled, but he was still flushed, grinning from ear to ear. Dyeing his hair red truly hadn’t managed to reduce his puppy-ness. That puppy-ness soon turned into something flirtier when Chanyeol’s free hand found his way to Baekhyun’s waist. “Were you gonna let me know about that plan?”

Baekhyun made a show of pouting, tilting his head down and staring up at Chanyeol from under his lashes. “Oh, please. Like we’re not exactly on the same page. Or are we gonna pretend last night didn’t happen?”

“We only kissed a couple of times and cuddled,” Chanyeol countered, but it was a weak retort and he knew it. “W-We’re taking it slow.”

“If we say it aloud enough times, we might start believing it!” Baekhyun chirped, but decided to take pity on Chanyeol— and by pity, he meant leaning his whole body over the Titan’s, wrapping his free arm around the man’s neck. He lowered his voice: “I’m really happy we’re both staying in the City.”

It had been the plan, after all. Kyungsoo and Jongin would set out for Mars, while Jongdae would go to Mercury. Everyone else was supposed to stay vigilant and be ready to give assistance at a moment’s notice. Baekhyun and Sehun would train with Kris and study with Minseok, while Chanyeol attempted to reach a certain Sunhee Lee. Yixing and Tao were relatively unoccupied, but there were plenty of places around the Last City where an extra pair of hands would be appreciated. Junmyeon had been listing off tasks they could do with too much enthusiasm, while Tao’s expression fell more and more.

No one would leave without their promises Crucible match, however. They had even roped in the Vanguard to go, to take a small break and mark their presence as involved leaders.

“Me too.” Chanyeol admitted quietly, as if it were a crime. He sneaked another look around, in fact, and then, he was leaning down. Baekhyun closed his eyes in anticipation.

“Stop that right this second!” Jongin’s genuinely upset voice was coming from behind Chanyeol before their lips could meet, and Baekhyun felt the exasperated sigh rather than hear it. The Hunter opened his eyes, only to see Jongin marching to them with a soft frown. “Do you want to make us late? You’re not taking the Crucible seriously enough.”

“Or you’re taking it too seriously?” Chanyeol proposed, a bit snarky, as he let go of Baekhyun begrudgingly and turned to Jongin.

“Just for that, I’m going to crush you, Kingslayer,” Jongin answered quickly. “Now let’s fucking _go_. How did your results go, Baekhyun?”

“Oh, they lost the sample,” The black-haired man shrugged. “They had to take another one.”

“That’s a bummer. You’re still gonna be able to play, right?”

As they walked through the halls of the Tower, Baekhyun learnt a few things.

First of all, Jongin and Kyungsoo, as it turned out, were Crucible champions— or junkies, depending on who you asked. It was the easiest way to train and to let off steam, because no one could kill a Guardian quite like another Guardian could. Baekhyun wasn’t sure how that exactly was a selling point, but hey, to each their own, right? At least they could all come back.

“The Crucible is where our strategies are born, our fighting styles honed, our ideologies exploited, and our scores are settled,” The blue-haired Sentinel had explained as they rushed to meet the rest of their group. Bannerfall was only a few walking metres from the half-destroyed half-rebuilt Tower, fortunately— a section that had been squandered for Crucible matches a long time ago. “It’s amazing, you’re gonna have so much fun. Just wait until you see what you can do.”

“Shoot?” Baekhyun joked. Jongin smirked at him.

“When that adrenaline goes up, you’re gonna _shoot_ alright, Gunslinger,” The man promised, and oh, Baekhyun was kind of hooked? “I can’t wait to see your Golden Gun.”

Bannerfall had a crowd. There was a large screen set up in this dark room before you could step outside, transmitting a match that had to be ongoing. A man at the front was barking orders at the top of his lungs to some poor guy on the camera, who was promptly killed off by a girl, perched on a roof, and her sniper rifle. Oh, that was a good idea.

“That was _PA-THE-TIC_ , Guardian Jinyoung. A month out of the circuit and you’re back on rookie level,” The man, a Titan with a helmet with only one horn and fur on his shoulder pads, was yelling. “ _Do better._ ”

The crowd, Guardians, civilians, and even some robotic frames as far as Baekhyun could tell, was cheering and whooping despite the harsh words. Their group, sort of hanging at the back of the throng of people, was almost unassuming. As if nobody had even noticed them. Junmyeon, Minseok, and Kris looked quite content blending in, while Yixing watched the match with interest, and Sehun and Jongdae chatted while Tao talked to a Redjack who had horns and fur on its shoulders while writing whatever Tao told him on his datapad.

The man in the front was yelling again, voice booming. “You’ve lost the lead, Red Team! Blue Team, _destroy them!_ ”

“That’s Lord Donghae, the Crucible’s handler,” Kyungsoo explained when he caught Baekhyun’s confused stare. “You took long enough. We had to go ahead and pencil us in in whatever what’s left.”

“He says it as if a good old Clash was a bad thing,” Jongdae laughed, the corners of his lips curling up. “Nobody has even realised the Vanguard’s playing.”

“We probably won’t be in the first match, anyway,” Junmyeon chuckled, flattered. “I haven’t played a proper Crucible match in years.”

“You’ll do great, Commander. What’s Clash, anyway?” Baekhyun asked.

“It’s six against six,” Chanyeol began, cracking his neck as he watched the crowd critically— he was assessing the competition, Baekhyun realised. Behind him, Toben was looking around like his Guardian, but a bit frantically. “The only objective is to engage and execute all targets— that’s the other team. Whatever team has the highest kill score at the end, wins.”

“I haven’t done a Crucible match in ages,” Sehun confessed. “I don’t know what’s gonna even work. I have knives up my sleeves right now.”

“Did you mean you have tricks up your sleeves?” Jongin tried.

“No, I said knives,” Sehun repeated himself seriously, and then revealed a knife attached to his forearm. He took it off and offered it to Baekhyun. “Baekhyunnie, do you want one?”

“Sure!” Baekhyun took the knife enthusiastically as Jongin muttered something about ‘Hunters, man’. “Nice. Thanks, Sehunnie. You know, all this talk about knives is making me think about—”

“—Baekhyun!”

Baekhyun lit up, as he turned quickly towards the familiar voice. Hendery was grinning happily as he rushed towards Baekhyun, and the Gunslinger did a quick scan of the little Guardian— he was in good shape, finally into some proper armour that still didn’t quite suit him instead of those torn robes, dark hair still elegant, aura still regal and naïve. He was also being followed by at least three additional Ghosts, besides the stern Hengwai, and one of those was Mongryong himself.

“Hendery!” Baekhyun called back, meeting Hendery halfway. If the crowd around them had hushed a bit or was staring at them now, Baekhyun decided to ignore that. “Mongryong! What are you doing with Hendery? I left you with Toben!”

“I left, Captain!” Mongryong replied cheerily for all defence. Poor Toben. “When I sensed Precious Guardian Hendery’s Light, I just _had_ to find him! I have made new friends! This is Friendly Ghost Bella and Friendly Ghost Schnappi!”

“Hello!” Bella greeted. Schnappi followed in suit. “Nice to meet you!”

“Hey, little fellas,” Baekhyun took his attention back to Hendery, making sure to check him over. “How are you feeling? Xiumin said he helped you with your pain, and Chanyeol said he left you in good hands, but—”

“—It was a bit hard to fall asleep last night,” Hendery admitted, but he was shrugging, unbothered. “You know the Traveller. So loud, am I right?”

“Very loud,” Baekhyun nodded. Everything in this City whispered, one way or the other. How did no one else complain about it really beat the Hunter.

“But the guys are super nice! Very welcoming!” Hendery continued, even if he winced a little. “Ah, Chanyeol threatened them a bit, but still, told Lucas that if I left his sight for even a second, he would personally come and—”

“—There you are, Hendery, you scared me half to death!”

The new boy —who towered over Baekhyun, as tall as Chanyeol, but exuding such a boyish charm that there was no way he was older despite his deeper voice— was _handsome_. Not as handsome as Chanyeol, of course, but— okay. Maybe just a little bit. Baekhyun couldn’t really help the way he checked him out. Another Titan. _Interesting_. Tall, dark, and handsome was _definitely_ Baekhyun’s type.

But the way the Titan stopped when he saw Baekhyun— that was definitely another level of _interesting_. There was recognition in those large eyes, but it was wary, rather than welcoming.

 _Lucas Wong_. This just had to be Lucas Wong.

“B-Baekhyun,” The boy was saying, almost shy but mostly unsure. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

Ah— so whatever it was that Lucas and he had gone through, it wasn’t pleasant. The tension in his shoulders, how guarded his expression was, and the control in his voice said it all.

“I’m sure I didn’t expect to see me here, either,” Baekhyun attempted to appease, smiling warmly, and Mongryong, as if he knew what Baekhyun was trying to do, floated to be by his Guardian’s side. “But that’s death for ya, I suppose.”

“Oh,” Lucas intoned. He looked down at Baekhyun’s body, the Ghost by his side, and then back at his face. “Oh. Uh.”

“It’s okay,” Baekhyun comforted. “I’ve forgotten all our beef. Who might you be?”

“This is Lucas Wong!” Hendery interjected on Lucas’s startled behalf. “And Lucas— this is Baekhyun Byun. Baekhyun and Mongryong saved us in Nessus!”

“From that secret exoplanet nobody has heard of before, you mean?” Lucas said, a bit drily and still distrusting, but at least he was taking Baekhyun’s hand and shaking it when it was offered.

“Yeah, that one!” Hendery said enthusiastically, and truly, it was commendable on how much he did to ignore the tension. He was turning back to Baekhyun then. “I think you two would be really good friends! I have an eye for these things.”

“I’d be happy to be friends with Lucas,” Baekhyun smirked, but he was genuine in his sentiment. “Listen, man— whatever happened, let’s turn a new leaf.”

Lucas looked extremely conflicted. He was saved by the bell, in the shape of another Guardian— a Hunter, judging by the cloak, with nearly perfect features, and sandy blond hair. He looked a concerned and worried, as he approached Lucas first.

“Lucas, I just saw our roster, and it’s _bad_ ,” The new arrival stumbled upon his words, voice soft and a bit quiet. “We’re going against the Kingslayers. Mark is freaking out. Jaehyun ended up on their team, the lucky bastard. But we have Kai, so— oh. Hi,” The whole disposition of the Hunter changed when he realised Baekhyun was there, smiling sweetly as he shook hands. “I’m sorry, I’m so rude! I didn’t mean to interrupt. I’m Taeyong Lee, hello.”

“Baekhyun Byun, nice to meet you.” Baekhyun introduced himself with a smile. Taeyong’s eyes lit up in recognition as well, but it was completely different from Lucas. He looked actually happy.

“You’re on our team for the next Clash match! I saw your name!” He announced with a grin. “Are you any good?”

“This is my first time, actually.”

“Yikes!” Taeyong cheered, and he reminded Baekhyun of Mongryong, cheery even as his smile wavered with renewed concern. “Okay, we’ve got Kai, though, who’s one of the best out there, and Ten and Mark are great. Lucas and I pull our weight!”

“Excuse you!” Lucas protested. “I’m great, too!”

“Don’t lie, Kun told me Chanyeol Park freaks you out,” Taeyong didn’t miss a beat. His eyes suddenly widened, as he saw something behind Baekhyun. “Oh, shit, he’s coming over, what the fuck—”

Baekhyun felt the large hand over the small of his back even through the armour. There was something satisfying in how out of sorts Lucas and Taeyong looked at the mere appearance of Chanyeol, while Hendery only smiled in welcome.

“Wong,” Chanyeol greeted, lips pursed, and it was hilarious that Lucas seemed so terrified when Chanyeol looked everything but dangerous. He was just a puppy! Or maybe Baekhyun was biased. “Hendery. Has Lucas been taking care of you?”

“Hi, Chanyeol!” Hendery said happily. “Yeah, I’m fine! He’s really nice. Thanks for caring!”

“Why would he not be, if you said Lucas was a ‘great guy’?” Baekhyun questioned, playful, but still raising an eyebrow at Chanyeol as if daring him to contradict himself now. With the way Chanyeol’s cheeks coloured, even if he tried to keep a straight face, Baekhyun had succeeded.

“I’m just checking,” Chanyeol deflected. “Uh, we’re not on the same team on this match. We asked for Baekhyun, but we got a Jaehyun instead.”

“A fair trade,” Baekhyun presumed with a hum, and then gestured at Taeyong and Lucas. “I’m with these guys! We’ll totally crush you!”

Chanyeol actually laughed, earnest, as if that was really truly funny to him and Baekhyun was a cute baby who had done something amusing. Baekhyun could feel his eyebrow raise further, grin a bit frozen. Oh, this was on.

“You’ll be with Kai, so that’s good!” Chanyeol said instead. “You’ll give it a good first try. I’m gonna meet with my team. See you on the arena!”

And then Chanyeol was gone, and Baekhyun watched him leave for approximately two seconds before he was turning, grin still in place. “Hendery, are you playing?”

“Oh, Traveller, no,” Hendery chuckled, waving the whole notion off. “I’ll be watching with Schnappi and Yangyang!”

“We prefer sparrow races, to be honest,” Schnappi chimed in.

“Then you—” Baekhyun was zeroing in to Taeyong. The blond Hunter was back to looking worried and nervous. “Get us the rest of our team. We need to strategize.”

“I appreciate your faith, but—” Taeyong gulped. “That was Chanyeol Park. A Kingslayer. Crota’s End. He just slayed Dominus Ghaul. And the rest of their team? They’re the Vanguard’s—”

“—I’m aware of the many accomplishments of the Vanguard’s clan,” Baekhyun interrupted. “And I’m also aware of their morning habits, now. They don’t scare me, and they shouldn’t scare you.”

Not everyone in the Last City agreed on how things were run. They never had, because that was human nature— to disagree.

The Speaker, many ages ago, had settled on creating a ruling body— the Consensus. There, factions of Guardians –Future War Cult, New Monarchy, and Dead Orbit alongside the Vanguard— could pursue their agendas, if they allied in search of the Last City’s best interests. But even such cooperation had met resistance.

“Bannerfall is the site of a legendary battle,” Monggu, Jongin’s Ghost, relayed to Baekhyun. “Here, New Monarchy crushed the very last of an attempted coup against the Speaker. Lord Donghae took over this place, so we would be able to commemorate this and also, to remind us of solidarity before all.”

“That’s interesting,” Baekhyun commented absently, as Mongryong hooked up an interface to his helmet’s vision. Suddenly he had a radar and a score counter. Bannerfall was nice alright— out in the open, half-torn by the Red War, but with an amazing view of the Traveller. Baekhyun just hoped it wouldn’t distract him much. “So, that Consensus— it’s still up and running?”

“Yes,” Monggu answered. “It’s finding its footing again, slowly but surely. The Speaker’s death and his apprentice’s disappearance have been a blow to the process, but they’ll manage.”

“And all of you are in factions?” Baekhyun asked his teammates then, who, with the exception of Taeyong and Jongin, looked very uncomfortable, even hidden behind their helmets.

“Yeah,” Ten, the kittenish Warlock who was the least awkward, replied. He bumped shoulders with the Hunter next to him, teasing and mischievous. “Mark here collects faction memberships like it’s a hobby.”

Mark, the Hunter, groaned. “Dude, stop. I’m not in Dead Orbit!”

“Notice how he doesn’t deny it, just tell us he’s just not part of Dead Orbit,” Ten insisted, sassy, and Baekhyun laughed. “Lucas and I are in Dead Orbit.”

“I’m in FWC with Mark, when he’s not living it up at New Monarchy,” Taeyong teased, but it was fond rather than angry. “You could always join us, Baekhyun!”

“You can give me a pamphlet later,” Baekhyun suggested, as he cocked the Ace of Spades and made sure it was loaded. The counter on his visor said they only had two minutes. “Listen— you’re awkward around me. Did we do deals before?”

Jongin’s snort was the only sound heard for a little bit, before Mark cleared his throat. His voice cracked just a bit when he spoke up. “I-It’s a little hard to separate you then and you now.”

Not a straight denial, but not a hard yes either. This Mark was smart.

“Well, you’re gonna have to, ‘cause I don’t remember any single of you,” Baekhyun snarked, as he removed the SUROS Regime from his back and practically shoved it into Mark’s arms, as if by instinct. “And I’m not gonna lose to Chanyeol and his little posse. Here, Mark, you use this rifle.”

“Uh,” Mark said intelligently, but taking the rifle indeed without question.

“You heard Baekhyun,” Jongin added, and Baekhyun could tell he was going into Kai mode. “We’re _not_ losing to the Kingslayers. The six of us are going to give it our all.”

“With all due respect,” Lucas began unsurely. “Aren’t you guys, uh… _Part_ of ‘Chanyeol’s little posse’?”

“Not in this arena, we’re not,” Jongin replied easily. “By the way, do you have any good name ideas for a clan? A fireteam, really. Twelve people.”

“I can think about it and get back to you.” Ten proposed, jutting out his bottom lip in thought.

“Mongryong, I need my sniper. Kai, what are D.O’s, Chen’s, and Chanyeol’s usual tactics? Taeyong, you know that Jaehyun kid, what’s he like? Anybody know Haechan and Winwin?” Baekhyun was firing questions quickly, watching the counter go down. Any moment now, they’d be sent off. Engage and execute all targets. Do it over and over again, until the timer went off. So much could happen in ten minutes.

“D.O has patience, discipline, and brute force, but he can be distracted if you provoke him enough,” Jongin responded, all business-like and efficient. “Chanyeol never has a strategy, he just runs at you and throws you off like that. Chen will make the best of distance, and his Super might be off the charts now.”

“Jaehyun is chaotic. He never sticks to the same gun or the same plan,” Taeyong followed suit quickly, getting into speed right away. Baekhyun liked him the best already. “But that makes him careless.”

“Haechan hates the Crucible, but he’s sneaky,” Mark added, managing to only hesitate for a moment. “He’s gonna attack from the back.”

“Winwin has incredible focus,” Ten continued confidently. “He’s gonna zero in on whoever he thinks our weakest link is and break us through that.”

“Since you’re the new light, Baekhyun, he’s gonna go after you,” Lucas interjected with certainty. When he continued, his voice had an edge to it. “But that can be easy to fix.”

Baekhyun smirked.

“I’m gonna hold on to you to that, Lucas. Since the majority of this team are Hunters, we’re gonna hunt them down,” Baekhyun decided. He didn’t know where this confidence and security were coming through— it must’ve been the adrenaline already coursing through his veins. “I’m gonna perch up on a roof and snipe the hell out of them, but without a distraction on the ground—”

“—They’re not gonna fall for anything I do, they know me.” Jongin warned.

“Leave distractions to me,” Ten suggested with a simper to his voice. “Lucas, baby, you can be our bait.”

“What?!” Lucas complained at first, but then— “Oh no, hold on, they do totally hate me.”

“This is about kill count, not finesse,” Baekhyun continued. “And I don’t know any of you enough to make a better plan, but if we keep them distracted and busy, and just rack up those kills—”

“—We might win the match,” Taeyong finished for him, an excited tinge on his voice. Just as he said this, a siren went off, signalling the beginning of the match. Baekhyun’s whole body felt like it was buzzing as Jongin yelled at him to go, just run— and Baekhyun knew exactly where to go. Watching the previous match from the corner of his eye had paid off.

“ _Never would have I thought I’d see Baekhyun Byun finally getting a chance to show Guardians what scavengers are made of_ ,” Lord Donghae’s voice was pure mirth in Baekhyun’s ear as the Gunslinger kept his eyes peeled for the other team. “ _This is a gauge of pure combat potential. Make me proud!_ ”

“I’m not gonna be able to escape my own legacy, huh?” Baekhyun mumbled to himself and to the concealed Mongryong, and he took a dive behind some crates when his radar lit up. Only a second later, a Guardian, a Hunter, walked right by him, but missing Baekhyun completely.

“What the fuck, there’s clearly someone here, Pudu,” The Hunter was whispering harshly, probably to his Ghost, but very inconspicuously. “Mark! Mark, come out come out wherever you are, you asshole! Let me kill you!”

Baekhyun blinked, not moving a single inch. It couldn’t really be this easy. Was it really this easy?

The Hunter was in perfect view of Baekhyun’s barrel. Well. What did they say? Not to look at a gift horse in the mouth?

Baekhyun whistled shortly so the Hunter would look his way, and Baekhyun shot before the other guy could even react. Truly, the Solar explosion that came with the precise headshot was just _so_ satisfying, and even more so to see their counter go up by one.

“ _First kill goes to the Red Team, and by Baekhyun Byun no less!_ ” Lord Donghae was booming through his comm, and Baekhyun knew he had to move fast if he didn’t want anyone to come after him. As Baekhyun climbed the crates and prepared to jump towards the perch that would allow him to be hidden and very high on top. A strange alarm. “ _But Chanyeol Park has smashed a triple kill! Do I see a rivalry brewing?_ ”

Stupid Chanyeol, Baekhyun thought grumpily as he got Izanagi’s Burden from his back and looked into its scope, preparing himself. He probably had used that hammer of fire, and that wasn’t fair— oh, but this spot was beautiful. He could see Jongin on the other side of the arena practically from this high place. Was he punching Kyungsoo? Oh wow.

“I’m ready for your distraction,” Baekhyun announced quietly into his team’s feed.

“ _On it_ ,” Lucas’s voice came through, and then, it was a war cry, and the earth was shaking.

Whatever Ten and he had done had worked— Lucas was dead now, but Jongdae was right there, in Baekhyun’s scope.

And Baekhyun didn’t hesitate to shoot.

Ten minutes went by extremely quickly. Baekhyun didn’t have time to ponder on how easily he adapted to this, when it felt like even his sniper rifle was pleased with him— always just a little bit quicker after a kill, or maybe Baekhyun was better at handling it. His feed was a mess, between his team scrambling to get kills on the ground while still keeping the others distracted from where Baekhyun was located, and Baekhyun couldn’t really get himself to ever shoot Chanyeol –even if he showed up on his scope more than once— but their strategy was working. They were neck-to-neck. Chanyeol’s team always seemed to pull ahead a little bit, and it frustrated Baekhyun immensely, but the satisfaction every time he scored was greater.

No wonder Kyungsoo and Jongin enjoyed this so much. This was addictive.

“ _Baekhyun Byun is about to reach a twenty-kill streak, on his very first match!_ ” Lord Donghae enthused. “ _This is amazing! Arcite, pop some champagne— no matter the result, I need a drink!_ ”

“ _Baekhyun, get out of there, now!_ ” Jongin was suddenly yelling when the ten minutes were almost up, and Baekhyun was on his feet before the Sentinel had even finished his sentence. “ _You’ve been spotted!_ ”

“We had a great run,” Baekhyun said dramatically, but he was jumping as far from his little window as his boots would take him— which was apparently a lot, holy shit, he was flying— okay not anymore, he landed shakily. His whole body was thrumming, feeling extremely hot now that he thought about it, even though he hadn’t done that much physical work. Now that he was on the ground, he felt exposed, too— his radar was lighting up on every direction. “Fuck, where do I even go?!”

They were behind by 5 kills. There was only fifteen seconds left on the counter. Baekhyun was panting. How was it so hot?

“Found you, you little shit!” Jongdae cackled, but Taeyong was right behind the Warlock. He shot him on the knee, and that seemed to slow the Warlock down, distracting him and making him shoot Taeyong instead of Baekhyun. But what did it matter, when Kyungsoo and Chanyeol were coming for Baekhyun from both sides?

“Use your Super, Baek—” Taeyong was yelling both in real life and in his feed, and then, he was down. What did that even mean?! But then Jongdae was turning again to Baekhyun, and Baekhyun felt as if his skin was burning, and he was paralysed, and—

His very first death at least was swift, as the sirens went off to signal the end of the match.

“Do you understand?” A man asks a child.

The child thinks. Baekhyun watches. The world is hazy and vividly coloured, but nothing makes sense.

“I think so.” The kid says. His voice is familiar.

“You think so,” The man repeats. He has dark glasses. He’s kneeling by the child, but they’re both sort of like shadows, sketched out and darkened. They’re suddenly far from Baekhyun even if they don’t move, as if Baekhyun is being dragged away. “Okay! That’s good enough. I think so, too.”

And it’s over.

Disgruntled by the loss, Baekhyun allowed Mongryong to heal him almost begrudgingly, while Chanyeol watched, attempting to hold back laughter.

“It was a really good match!” The Sunbreaker began, grinning, and Baekhyun gave him his most withering glare. Chanyeol only laughed, and it was a warm sound, but Baekhyun hated him now, so it was definitely not giving him any butterflies. “I’m serious! Don’t be like that, this was your first try. The six of you really gave us a run for our money!”

“That whole thing where you had the rest of your team constantly bugging us while you got us with a sniper? It was pretty good!” Toben praised a bit flatly. “It won’t work ever again, but still— it was good while it lasted.”

“I had a lot of fun, Captain!” Mongryong interjected happily. “Guardian Kai was right! Though I was disappointed you did not get to use the ‘Golden Gun’!”

“No idea what that is, anyway,” Baekhyun finally grumbled, not pacified in the least. “I would be fine with this if you weren’t— fuck, you’re so cocky!”

“Is it cocky if I’m really great at Crucible?” Chanyeol was smirking, chuckles still leaving him, but he also looked fond and tender, and okay, maybe he was melting Baekhyun just a little bit. “C’mon, baby, it’s okay. How can I make it up to you?”

Baekhyun flushed. He was almost glad no one was looking their way— the crowd, including their own friends and the reluctant teammates they had had in the previous match gathered close to the screen Lord Donghae had set up. It was the Vanguard’s turn, and no one wanted to miss them. From what Baekhyun could make out, they were a wrecking crew.

“Get me juice,” The black-haired Hunter pouted, for the sake of being a brat, really. “I never did get my juice. I feel faint! I’m very tired! And it’s all your fault!”

Chanyeol laughed again, ruffling Baekhyun’s hair, and when Baekhyun protested with a loud whine, he was leaning in to kiss the top of Baekhyun’s head. That shut the Gunslinger down pretty quickly, and Chanyeol seemed to be pleased it was Baekhyun who was flustered instead of him, for once.

“I’ll get you some juice, and maybe even a cookie,” The Titan promised. “We’ll go home soon, alright? I’m tired, too. It’s not even noon, but I could really get some lunch.”

“And a nap,” Baekhyun added. “Let’s get a nap.”

“Oh, I’m so down,” Chanyeol groaned. “Okay, be right back. Stay right here! Don’t move!”

Baekhyun watched Chanyeol walk away being followed by Toben, admiring his height, and then turned his eyes to Mongryong with a sigh.

“Say, Mongryong,” He started. “I saw something weird while I was out.”

“I would not know anything about that, Captain!” Mongryong chirped merrily. “I was not aware you experienced hallucinations of any sort while dead, but I hypothesise it might be related to my quick reviving skills!”

Baekhyun frowned. No, that wasn’t it. But he didn’t really have a chance to tell Mongryong as much— an older man, bearded and scarred and wearing strange green and leather clothing was sneaking up on him, making him jump. The man chuckled but lifted his hands in surrender.

“Sorry, kid! Didn’t mean to scare ya like that,” The man –a Guardian or a civilian? Baekhyun couldn’t really tell— spoke, voice scratchy and amused. He was smiling, and Baekhyun smiled back out of politeness. “I wanted to talk to you real fast. Loved what you did out there on the arena. This really your first time?”

“As far as I know,” Baekhyun replied, examining the man further. This man— he had a headband and shoulders with fur, blunt spikes coming out of them and bursting with little shots of some sort of electricity. He had a bright green necklace around his throat. A snake. “Can I help you?”

“I’m just doing a little bit of scouting,” The man drawled. “There’s no harm in that, is there? Call me Drifter.”

He offered Baekhyun his hand to shake. Baekhyun looked down at it, but eventually, he took the hand. He couldn’t be too picky when he had been asking for reluctant handshakes from Lucas Wong, too, could he? “Then I guess you can call me Skulking Fox. Since we’re dealing in secret.”

There was something dangerous about the way this man grinned at Baekhyun. Even if he seemed amused still. Something just didn’t sit right with Baekhyun about him.

“That’s fine by me, Fox! I’m not asking to receive for more than I’d give,” Drifter looked around, but it was only a subtle glance to the crowd, to make sure no one was looking at them. No one was. “Listen— I’ll keep it short. I think you’ve got potential, for a new light. I’d like to hire you sometime for a small gig I’m thinking of starting.”

Baekhyun perked up. “Oh?”

“Yeah,” Drifter assented, but looked regretful, even if he didn’t lose his smile. “We can’t really discuss it here, but, if you’re interested— I’m camping out at Banshee’s old place.”

“I don’t know what that is.”

“Just ask around,” The man retorted easily. “You’re resourceful enough, aren’t you? Got friends in high places. They’ll tell you if you just ask for a tour ‘round the Tower.”

Drifter was leaning in, slowly, and Baekhyun leaned back, but the man still managed to brush his ear. He didn’t like it, but he tried not to show his displeasure so openly, as the man pulled away— with a green chip on his hand, as if he had taken it from behind Baekhyun’s ear. Baekhyun also tried not to show how that entertained him, but the upwards quirk of his lips was harder to hide. He knew he failed when Drifter’s smile only grew.

He offered Baekhyun the green chip. Baekhyun looked at it, then back at Drifter’s face.

“My business card,” He explained succinctly.

“Snakes aren’t usually good for business, are they?” Baekhyun asked, but before he could think about it more, he took the chip. He pocketed it without looking. Chanyeol would be back any second now.

“They just get a bad rep— but hey, I like ‘em,” Drifter shrugged, but he kept talking, raising Baekhyun’s curiosity. “Two snakes— that’s duality. Balance. Harmony of Light and Dark. The undulating dance of cosmic forces! We can talk about it more when you come find me.”

“When,” Baekhyun echoed, and he couldn’t really help the way he snorted. He met Drifter’s dark eyes and nodded, half-smiling. “When it is.”

“Just try to come alone,” Drifter suggested, already moving away, towards the crowd, as if he wanted to blend in— or scout some more. Baekhyun thought he caught him looking at Taeyong for a second. “Boyfriend may not appreciate what I have for you.”

“I can take care of myself,” Baekhyun muttered, but Drifter wasn’t listening. He was already gone, and Baekhyun followed him with his eyes until Mongryong called his attention.

“What a skeevy guy, Captain!” Mongryong really had no business sounding so pleased when he was a bit nervous, perhaps. “I do not trust him! We should alert someone immediately!”

“Don’t be a snitch, Mongryong,” Baekhyun chided gently. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

“Will we go visit him?”

“Maybe,” Baekhyun said noncommittally. “I haven’t made up my mind yet. Ask me later.”

His interest in the ongoing match completely killed, Baekhyun opted to wait for Chanyeol here, staring down at his hands. His eyes were drawn to the prominent mole over his thumb, and naturally, he fixated on it, flexing his fingers experimentally as he turned over his hands.

They were admittedly nice hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm SO SORRY for the long wait! I've been so busy, life gets weird even when there's nothing to do but stay in lockdown. Thank you for sticking around!
> 
> As you can probably tell, Baekhyun hasn't changed all that much! Can we truly trust his judgement? Of course we can, but we won't know until the very last moment uwu
> 
> I hope this chapter isn't subpar. You know by now i doubt myself-- I need your validation at all times ^^' let me know what you think, and I'll try my best to get the next installment in less than a month-- AND ALSO UPDATE THE DRABBLES UGH
> 
> for my Destiny lovers, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT SUNSETTING¿??? LET'S DISCUSS


	3. the heat persists, though you can no longer see

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> baekhyun was very resistant this chapter, so I made it about him resisting!

**iii. the heat persists, though you can no longer see**

  
  


It was so hot here.

Even with every coolant system and anti-UV shield in place and working overtime, Jongdae still felt disgusting in his Warlock garb, feeling the sweat collect in droplets in the most uncomfortable of places— the small of his back, his feet, between his fingers, his armpits, the back of his neck, his brow. He hated every second of it— not to mention the thin atmosphere of Mercury hardly managed to stop the sun rays from hitting the planet’s surface mercilessly, and _somehow_ , there was sand inside his boots.

 _For Minseok, for Minseok, for Minseok_ , he repeated inside his head like a mantra.

But honestly? Fuck Minseok.

“How do the pilgrims in the Lighthouse deal with this on a daily basis? _How_?” He whined to Pepper between pants, and really, climbing a dune towards the Lighthouse in question shouldn’t be this taxing for someone in peak physical condition like Jongdae. “For the love of the Traveller. I am going to die!”

“And I’ll bring you back,” Pepper didn’t bother comforting him further, but she seemed amused. “I’m surprised anything in Mercury survived at all. There’s a big chance we won’t find anyone in the Lighthouse.”

Jongdae, against his better judgement, looked up to the sky. There, in the unforgiving shadow of the Sun, was the Almighty. Every time Jongdae looked up at it, it was closer. It moved fast— maybe three months had been a generous estimation from the Vanguard.

“Well, _somebody_ has to be around,” The Stormcaller remarked, eyeing the wind chimes and red ribbons hanging about over the cubic rocks of the Vex with a squint. Those couldn’t stay up without constant upkeep— not with the unrelenting solar flares that gave the illusion of breeze. “I don’t think the Vex are that big on decorating like this.”

“I was wondering about that,” Pepper mentioned. “You know, in Toben’s data, the Black Garden is very lush, filled with fauna and flora. So is Venus, as we’ve seen, and so is Nessus, according to him. Why would they take over Mercury and make it a desert? It’s hardly on brand with their other machine worlds.”

“I’m sure our amazing friend Luhan can give you the answer to that,” Jongdae replied, not bothering to hide his bitterness. “If there’s anything I don’t concern myself, it’s the machinations of the Vex. You know this.”

If absolutely pressed, Jongdae would be willing to admit he preferred the Hive. Much more interesting fellows. That a Hive Witch could tear a man to pieces with a song fascinated him way more than stupid organic robots with their stupid poisonous milk and only a stupid Warlock like Luhan could possibly care about that.

“You’re sulking.” Pepper noted, still amused. Jongdae yelled in protest.

“I’m not! Why would you say that?!”

The heat was just too much. Jongdae stumbled on the sand, yelping, but Pepper merely laughed at his struggle. Whining, he let himself flop onto the burning sand, under the sweltering heat and abrasive sunlight. He wasn’t any more comfortable than he had been before, but at least, it was a reprieve.

“Come on, Guardian,” Pepper enthused, floating towards his head and nudging his helmet on the cheek area, as if that alone would lift him up. “We have a Lighthouse to raid.”

“Why couldn’t they send Chanyeol here?” Jongdae complained instead. “He’s a Sunbreaker. He trained in the Burning Shrine, didn’t he? He can handle the heat. Why am I here?”

“The brothers and sisters of the Cult won’t feel inclined to hear what a Sunbreaker and his brute force have to say,” Pepper retorted proudly, nuzzling into his neck when at least he turned to be laying on his back. “But they might listen to a Warlock of your calibre.”

“You love me so much,” Jongdae laughed, flushed under his helmet from the warmth of the Sun and the warmth of her praise. “I’m not that great. There’s still much for me to learn.”

Especially now, he reckoned, his hand twitching over his stomach with the Arc sparks he unintentionally emitted, zapping himself. He made a fist, letting the tremor of electricity go through his body, making him shiver.

Something had happened to him when the Traveller awoke. He had anticipated the return of his Light, even when he had given all that had remained of his power to Baekhyun— in order to buy him a little peace of mind, a little clarity, enough hours for the scavenger to do what he did best: surprise them.

It had been scary to see that very same Light be consumed in a matter of seconds in that wretched Cabal firebase. How meaningless Jongdae had felt, when the Darkness Baekhyun harboured inside him devoured Jongdae’s entire power to manifest into a Nightmare. A Baekhyun, but not Baekhyun. A Baekhyun that had only stayed with them a minute, before vanishing like a bad dream, taking Jongdae’s Light with him. It made Jongdae fear —truly fear— what was to come.

But his Light had indeed returned. And it had been blinding. It kept him up at night, always energised and always exhausted, attempting to restrain himself from his own power. Jongdae hadn’t had a single moment to ponder it, to really meditate on his Light like he was used to, ever since they had regained the Last City. The Warlock had hoped that, with the occupation Baekhyun’s apartment and the finding of Baekhyun himself, he would get some respite— but Baekhyun only brought terrible news with him.

“A double-edged sword, that Skulking Fox,” He muttered thoughtfully. Pepper perked up.

“What did you say?” His Ghost asked. Even if she couldn’t see it, he smiled at her, indulgent.

“Nothing. Let’s go!” Jongdae groaned as he got up again, getting into his hands and knees to be able to resume his climb. It was easier this way.

The Lighthouse was the tallest tower in all of Mercury. It was also the only tower in all of Mercury— of what remained of the fragmented planet. When Luhan had been exiled from the Last City for his heretical ways, those who followed his teachings had left not too long after. The Cult of Luhan was exactly that: a cult of personality, centred in a man who, as far as Jongdae knew, had never even shown his face to those who abandoned everything to bask in his so-called glory. They had built the Lighthouse in the Fields of Glass in Mercury, overlooking the one place Luhan was rumoured to be in.

The Infinite Forest.

A Vex Pyramid, not unlike the Pyramidion of Io. A machine capable of simulating uncountable realities. It was said Luhan had spent centuries inside. More than one fireteam had ventured to find him and bring him back, either by force or by reason, but none had found him— until Luhan himself had decided he had had enough.

Getting information from Baekhyun was like pulling teeth on a good day, Jongdae had learnt on the short time he had known him. _Why_ Luhan had decided to resurface just in time to help them save the Last City and the Traveller was up in the air, though Jongdae had his suspicions.

 _For Minseok, for Minseok, for Minseok,_ Jongdae repeated like a mantra. He was certain he wasn’t the only Warlock who thought that way. He could only hope that someone in the Lighthouse knew the way into the Infinite Forest, or where Luhan had ran off to, now that _Minseok_ was safe and sound and Luhan had no pending business with the City.

He was almost to the Lighthouse when his feet made contact with something strange. A rock, he thought for a moment, but it didn’t really feel like one— too pointy. Jongdae backtracked just a couple of steps to be able to pull the offending object from the sand. Jongdae couldn’t help the gasp that escaped him.

In his hand, he held the shell of a Ghost. A Ghost bright as a star.

“Xiaotong!” Pepper exclaimed in shock. “How is this possible?”

“Is she dead?” Jongdae asked urgently, but he could tell without Pepper’s help that— no. She wasn’t dead. She was trapped. Dormant. Pepper scanned her, anyway, humming in thought.

“She’s just… Asleep,” Pepper mumbled, bemused. “How… How could this be? Where is Luhan?”

“What are the chances he finally went mad and tried to kill her?” Jongdae wondered, but even to his own ears, that rang untrue. The bond between Luhan and Xiaotong was legendary. One of the most loyal Ghosts he had ever seen— and he had Pepper by his side. “Something… Something must’ve happened to him.”

The wind chimes close by fluttered in the solar winds. Instinctively, Jongdae looked up at the Lighthouse. Slowly, without taking his eyes away from it, he gathered Xiaotong into his robe, where she would be safe.

“He leaves for one week and he loses his Ghost,” Jongdae grumbled, but it was mostly for show. His Light was buzzing under his skin, in warning. “How did he survive all this time in the wild if he’s going to be this careless?”

They had to go back. There was nothing here for them. There was nothing at the Lighthouse that would help.

“Call the Arrowhawk,” Jongdae suddenly ordered Pepper, turning on his heels, down the dune he had so painstakingly climbed. “Quickly!”

The earth under his feet was beginning to shake. The Almighty was passing over them, casting a shadow over Jongdae. Pepper transmatted away, and the Arrowhawk uncloaked not too far from Jongdae. He began running, even though it was an almost impossible task.

The wind chimes rang louder, rattled by the colossal Cabal ship, but maybe it was something more. It _felt_ like something more. It was so hot here, but the swelter hardly mattered to Jongdae at that moment, as he attempted to focus on the task at hand. Reaching his ship wasn’t easy, but once he was in it, he scrambled for the control panels.

“What did you see, Chen?” Pepper questioned. Jongdae didn’t answer at first, settling Xiaotong on his co-pilot seat like she was his passenger. Pepper hovered behind his shoulder.

“That Lighthouse has been wiped out,” The Stormcaller answered. “Can’t _you_ see it?”

“Wiped out?” Pepper echoed in astonishment. “By who?”

“I don’t know,” Jongdae admitted, as he made the Arrowhawk fly away. Everything rattled with the Almighty’s presence. Mercury was fragmented to the very seams of its reality, it seemed— but this couldn’t be the Cabal’s doing. “But maybe Xiaotong does. We need to wake her.”

“She’s—” Pepper stopped herself, scanning Xiaotong once more. “She’s… A bit more Vex than she is Ghost. Or the Vex in her is more powerful than her Ghost. I can’t decrypt it, either way. She’s far too deep.”

“Minseok will know what to do,” Jongdae declared with certainty. “We need to take her to him.”

Sand had even infiltrated his ship. Jongdae flew it down close to the ground, until he had passed the Almighty, until he had enough space to break the atmosphere. He only needed to go up, now.

But then he saw him climbing the mountain.

Baekhyun awoke sweating.

Panting and a bit disoriented, he looked around to try and understand what was happening. His vision was unfocused, but he could make out the somewhat familiar shapes of his bedroom. He had a mouthful of red hair, for some reason, and a heavy weight over his chest— over his whole body, really.

“Fuck,” He mumbled blearily, and attempted to push Chanyeol away, with very little success. “Chanyeollie. Chanyeol. Wake up, I’m hot.”

Chanyeol was draped over Baekhyun like he was a blanket. It maybe had been cute in the dark of night, as Chanyeol pretended he still wanted to take things slow, as they shared small kisses and giggles like teenagers, as they spooned to fall asleep together. Baekhyun had welcomed the warmth of the Sunbreaker then, giddiness taking the shape of butterflies in his stomach, affection flowing through his veins like blood, wondering sleepily just how did Chanyeol manage to have such an effect on him when they knew so little about the other.

But in the morning? When the air felt so stuffy and humid? When it was so hot, he had foregone his shirt at some point during the night? Baekhyun pushed at Chanyeol’s shoulders with more force, until the man whined, shoving his face against Baekhyun’s exposed collarbone.

“Stop,” The Hunter begged with a groan. “Let me go. C’mon, you big baby.”

“What is it?” Chanyeol mumbled against Baekhyun’s skin, the black-haired man barely able to understand him. “Why’re you yelling so much?”

“I’m not yelling, I’m hot,” Baekhyun retorted. “Get off.”

“You are hot,” Chanyeol agreed idly, and then began giggling. “ _Get off_.”

“For fuck’s sake,” Baekhyun flushed, feeling suddenly way more awake, and decided to pull out the big guns by tickling Chanyeol’s side lightly. It made him smirk how the Titan recoiled, yelping, and effectively got off him. “Haha, serves you right!”

“Was that necessary?” Chanyeol complained, as he turned to lay back down fully on the bed, limbs spread out as Baekhyun sat up. His own hand trailed over the spot Baekhyun had tickled, and Chanyeol looked down at his own chest, blinking slowly. “Where’s my shirt?”

“We must’ve taken them off in our sleep,” Baekhyun wasn’t shy about the way he let his eyes gloss over Chanyeol’s chest. He hadn’t had the chance to see Chanyeol shirtless yet, but, wow. Now he wasn’t complaining. “It’s a pretty hot morning.”

Chanyeol hummed in a surprised sort of acknowledgement, as if he only was now realising that the ambience temperature was a little bit too high.

“Yeah,” He acquiesced, his words slowing down when he realised Baekhyun was staring at him. “It doesn’t really feel like fall.”

Baekhyun didn’t reply, merely staring down at Chanyeol. They gazed at each other for a few loaded seconds, and Baekhyun began to lean forward, like a cat, when there was a loud knock on the door and the moment was broken.

“What is it?” Baekhyun called out, without tearing his eyes from Chanyeol, even if the Titan was getting up suddenly, flustered. Tao’s voice came through the door.

“Oh good! You’re up!” The Warlock exclaimed, muffled behind wood. “Kris wants Sehunnie and you at the Tower as soon as possible! He says you turned off your comm.”

“Oh no,” Baekhyun intoned. “I wondered how that happened?”

It was almost funny how swiftly Mongryong had agreed to block any incoming messages from _the Kris Wu_ the night before. For how much the Ghost disagreed with all of Baekhyun’s choices, that one request hadn’t been questioned. Neither Ghost nor Guardian were looking forward to a full day of _training_ — whatever that entailed.

“He’s blowing up Sehun’s comm, so please,” Tao pleaded. “Will you go? I need the sleep.”

“Get up,” Chanyeol was stage whispering from the bathroom. “C’mon, we’ve got work to do today.”

Baekhyun made a show of groaning, but did get up, to be able to go.

“I’m going, Tao! Tell Kris to leave you alone.”

He followed Chanyeol into the bathroom, where the Titan was washing his face. Baekhyun turned on the shower, because there was no way he was going to go out when he was this sweaty. He turned to cheekily ask Chanyeol if he wanted to join him in the shower, but his eyes spotted something strange on his nape, and the words died in his throat.

“What’s wrong?” Chanyeol asked. Baekhyun began twisting, staring at himself in the mirror.

“What do I have there?” He couldn’t actually see, but there was a black splotch. Was it a mole of some sort? “I can’t see.”

Chanyeol snorted.

“Obviously, you can’t see the back of your head,” The Sunbreaker teased. “It’s a— it’s a whole thing. Ever heard of blind spots, Baekhyunnie?”

“Well, fuck you,” Baekhyun deadpanned, still twisting, until he got spots in his eyes. “What is it? You can see it, right? I’m not seeing things?”

“You’re not seeing things,” Chanyeol reassured fondly. He hesitated for a moment, before he trailed the splotch with his index finger, as if writing something down. Baekhyun shivered at the touch, as if it were a familiar ghost. “You have a tattoo there. It says: ‘have courage’. You told me it was your grandmother’s handwriting.”

“My grandmother’s handwriting,” Baekhyun echoed pensively. Chanyeol was watching him, and suddenly, Baekhyun felt caged in. He moved away from the Titan, turning on the shower, avoiding his dark puppy eyes. “That’s cute of me.”

“Don’t you wanna know why you got it?” Chanyeol asked carefully, as if he was baiting Baekhyun. “I know the story. I could tell you. Or even better, you could…”

“I could, I could, I could,” Baekhyun sing-songed as he tried to think of a way to get rid of Chanyeol’s questioning. Was it that hard to understand Baekhyun had very little interest on the previous Baekhyun? “But I won’t! Stop asking me.”

“I’m just worried,” Chanyeol attempted to explain himself, a bit more serious now. “You’ve got an opportunity some Guardians spend their whole second lives chasing. I don’t want you to regret— what are you doing?!”

“Distracting you. Is it working?” Baekhyun quipped, though he did feel a bit vulnerable—whether it was due to Chanyeol’s insistence or due to being naked under the shower’s steady drizzle in front of the other man, he wasn’t entirely sure. It had definitely worked, though, because Chanyeol’s face was now as red as his hair, as he valiantly kept his eyes on a spot over Baekhyun’s head. “You can join me, you know?”

“T-Thanks but no thanks!” Chanyeol squeaked, voice cracking. He cleared his throat and scrambled out of the bathroom. “I’m getting breakfast! Get ready quickly!”

Should he feel rejected or relieved? Baekhyun chuckled to himself, but it turned into a sigh pretty soon. He leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes.

What a way to start the day. Overheated and with existential dread. Why was it such a big deal that he didn’t want to remember everything right off the bat? Some of them understood, while others seemed to think it was a bad idea.

Mongryong seemed to think it was a _terrible_ idea. Mongryong had a lot of glitches, though. He couldn’t even talk about the things that Baekhyun was wondering about the most or show him.

What did he keep calling it? _Interference._ Who was interfering?

“I think you and I both know who’s interfering,” Baekhyun muttered to the empty bathroom. He surprised himself. He opened his eyes to see his reflection in the mirror, but it was almost already completely fogged up.

He turned the water to the coldest setting.

Baekhyun was still shivering a little when Sehun and he were led by Kris into Bannerfall.

The weather was strange today. It was hot, but it was cloudy, and without the Sun actually beating down on his skin, Baekhyun felt cold, even under his armour. Maybe he shouldn’t have taken that cold shower before leaving.

“I don’t understand why we have to train,” Sehun had been complaining the whole time, and he did it again once they stepped foot into the empty Crucible arena. He was probably hungover. He had celebrated hard in the enclosed space of Baekhyun’s apartment that he was six months old the night before. “We’re both perfectly capable. I did do that whole thing with Dominus Ghaul two weeks ago, _sir_.”

“And I had never died before I became involved with the lot of you,” Baekhyun interjected sassily. “Really, this is unnecessary.”

Kris was scowling at them when he turned, unimpressed at both young Hunters’ antics.

“Do you think _I_ want to be here?” The Vanguard retorted grumpily. “Where have you heard about _the_ Kris Wu training Guardians personally? Nowhere, that’s where.”

“It’s important that both of you get better holds of your Light,” RouRou said instead, in a much more placating mood than his Guardian. “Sehun, nobody’s putting into question what you did during the Red War. Baekhyun, we’ve seen you with a gun. You both have lots of potential, and we need to make you the best Hunters you can be. Vivi and Mongryong agree! Right, Vivi and Mongryong?”

“I do not agree with anything that the Kris Wu proposes, Friendly Ghost RouRou!” Mongryong chirped. “However, I do not have the proper tools to help the Captain master his Light!”

“I always say we could use some more help with Sehun’s visions,” Vivi acquiesced, much to his Guardian’s chagrin. “Sehun, we’ve talked about this— it’s not the moment to be stubborn.”

Sehun opened his mouth to retort, but before he could, Kris was growling at him.

“Don’t even start, Oh,” The man’s voice was low and dangerous, which Baekhyun honestly thought was unwarranted hostility. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes, but Sehun looked a bit chastised. “You’re training. That’s the end of it. So, let’s get started before I lose my patience. Tell me— what does it mean to be a Hunter?”

Baekhyun and Sehun exchanged a look of confusion. Eventually, without a word, Sehun looked back at Kris and just shrugged, and surprisingly, this seemed to please Kris.

“Right answer,” The senior Hunter praised with a nod, crossing his arms over his chest. “Being a Hunter is meaningless. Or, in more optimistic terms, we do what we want. There’s no one way to be a Hunter.”

That could be liberating, Baekhyun reckoned. Or paralysing, depending on where you were standing.

“Titans resent us for lacking morals and discipline,” Kris scoffed with a lazy sort of disdain. It reminded Baekhyun of a predator who didn’t need to prove its prowess. “Warlocks think we are impulsive and uncaring. What _I_ say is that Titans have their tall walls, and Warlocks have their great libraries, but _we_ — we belong in the wilds. We always have, and we always will. Now, show me your weapons.”

Baekhyun unholstered his hand cannon –the Ace of Spades, white and black, heavy and long against his leg— with a smirk, as Sehun pulled a complicated-looking bow in red and white and a golden butterfly on its upper limb.

“Who knew you could be so inspiring, Kris?” Baekhyun teased while Sehun snickered. Kris only scowled at him, but at least his eyes shone with some mirth.

“The Ace of Spades and Le Monarque,” The Vanguard regarded. “Both of them one in their kind. And both of them couldn’t be more perfectly suited. A hand cannon for a Gunslinger and a bow for a Nightstalker.”

Kris took the bow from Sehun’s hands, testing its weight and the elasticity of its string.

“It’s funny,” He began again. “You two are polar opposites. The sun and the void. Let’s start with you, Sehun. You know, there aren’t a lot of Nightstalkers in the field to begin with. Do you know why that is?”

“Something something Void energy is scary,” Sehun deadpanned, but it made Kris chuckle in agreement. It made Sehun smile a little bit, too. “Or so they tell me. I don’t mind it, though. It isn’t special, just creepier. You show it respect, thank it for a lovely evening, and make sure to pay your bill— and then you’ve got nothing to worry about.”

“That’s the spirit,” Kris complimented once more. “The Void eats away at those who fear it. We don’t fucking care about its secrets— _you_ are the secret. You’re fearless, Sehun Oh. You stare right into it, and never look away. You find Light where there are only black holes.”

He aimed the bow right at Sehun’s face slowly, but the Nightstalker didn’t flinch. It wasn’t a threat, anyway— Kris seemed content to play around with Le Monarque, and Sehun seemed content to let him. At least, he wasn’t frustrated about being forced to train anymore.

“But that’s also your problem,” Kris remarked at last, pulling the arrow back just a little bit more. “You live on the edge of the Light. You’re privy to truths that hurt you, and in the dark, you can’t discern what’s real and what isn’t. Everything speaks, because in every empty space there’s the Void. And the Void is inescapable. It doesn’t let you go.”

Kris lowered the bow, levelling a now exposed Sehun with a heavy gaze. “Am I right?”

Sehun was silent for a moment.

“You know,” He finally said, considering. “You’re not that bad at this Vanguard thing.”

Kris snorted.

“What I’m good at is being a Hunter,” He countered, giving Sehun back his bow. “You’ve been going at your visions all wrong. Warlocks can only help you so much, when you’re fundamentally different. If we want to help you be able to understand what you’re shown, or even just being able to turn it off, we need to make sure you approach the Void as the Nightstalker you are. You already have the right idea— you did regain your Light on your own and defeated Dominus Ghaul. We don’t need you to become the next Speaker. We just need you not to go crazy.”

Kris then turned to Baekhyun, who had been so engrossed in taking in Kris’s words for Sehun that he had forgotten he was here for the same thing, and he jumped when the Vanguard’s eyes met his. Silent, Kris opened his hand. Baekhyun offered him the Ace of Spades.

“Not to toot your own horn, Baekhyun,” The man began again, as he checked the Ace, opening its chamber and thumbing at every one of its thirteen shells. “But you were born to be a Gunslinger. Guardian or not.”

There was an unexpected warmth to Kris’s words, to Kris’s eyes, even if he maintained a serious expression. Unsure on what it meant, Baekhyun just watched Kris curiously, even if the way he was handling his hand cannon made him uneasy. How Kris closed the chamber and cocked the Ace made Baekhyun snatch it back instinctively, but Kris didn’t seem surprised by this.

“You’re making me nervous,” Baekhyun chided him, a bit embarrassed. Kris nodded slowly.

“I know I am,” The older Hunter countered sagely. “In the end, for Gunslingers like you, it all comes down to you and your gun. There’s nothing much else to it. It doesn’t take much skill to fire a weapon, but the way you do it— it’s art. Perfection. And now, you’re gonna paint with your Light.”

Kris stepped away a couple of metres, placing his hands over his hips as he stared at Baekhyun up and down.

“The favourite legend of every Gunslinger is the showdown of Shin Malphur and Dredgen Yor,” Kris continued. “A renegade seeking revenge from the twisted man who killed his family. I’m not much of a storyteller, but as it goes, two men go up the Dwindler’s Ridge to settle their differences. They’re day and night, right and wrong— depending on where you’re standing. It only took a single perfect shot, Baekhyun, for Shin Malphur to get the last word. It’s not the second or third or fourth shot what matters—”

“—It’s that first one that makes all the difference,” Baekhyun found himself finishing, and Kris smirked. He cocked his head at the man. “It’s common sense. Whoever draws quicker is the winner.”

“You got it,” Kris agreed. “This is what you live for.”

Before Baekhyun knew it, Kris was drawing his hand cannon and pulling it on him— but Baekhyun had one hell of an autopilot. The Ace of Spades felt natural in his hand, like an extension of him, and somehow, even though only minutes earlier he had felt cold, now his skin burnt as the strange blue fire lit the Ace. Kris looked impressed, as they both aimed at the other.

“That’s interesting,” The Hunter Vanguard mused, lowering his gun while Baekhyun kept his own steady on his figure. “You and I will duel soon. But first, you will learn to harness the sunfire within you. You will show me the most impressive Golden Gun you can muster before we leave this arena, and it’ll be glorious, or I’m not letting you go.”

“That’s a challenge I’m willing to take,” Baekhyun nodded, half-smiling. Maybe training wouldn’t be _absolutely_ terrible. When Kris turned to look at Sehun, it seemed like the younger Hunter agreed, even in his silence.

“You two will now train your Lights by fighting each other,” Kris explained, and Baekhyun watched Sehun, who raised his eyebrows at him. “Because nothing is more effective against a Guardian than another Guardian. Especially two as evenly matched. But I don’t feel like dying of boredom either, so— how about a little Mayhem? RouRou?”

“The settings have been adjusted accordingly,” The Ghost assured Kris. “Mongryong, Vivi, come here so I can transfer them to you— you’ll be able to recharge Baekhyun and Sehun with Light at a much faster rate like this.”

“Sounds like a lot of fun!” Mongryong chirped, making RouRou chuckle as the Ghost scanned Baekhyun’s little light and then did the same to Vivi. “Oop! I feel recharged! Captain, you will enjoy this!”

“I don’t know,” Baekhyun drawled out. “Is this gonna be like, a one-on-one Crucible match? I’m not the biggest fan.”

“You’ll be a fan of this,” Kris promised. “I won’t take away your weapons, but I expect mostly Shadowshots from you,” He pointed at Sehun, and then turned to Baekhyun. “And Golden Guns from you. Only knives I’m allowing are flaming ones or spectral ones. You hear me? Say you heard me.”

“We heard you!” Baekhyun exclaimed as he fitted his helmet over his head, already eager to start. Mongryong was once again doing something to the chip on his neck, because Baekhyun felt a tinge of something and then he was very warm. “Wait, how do I do a Golden Gun?”

“You just,” Sehun tried for Kris. “Uh. Well. What I do is take aim and pull my bow.”

“I’m gonna stop you right there,” Baekhyun interrupted. “That makes no sense. How are you gonna be aiming before you even have something to aim with?”

“It works just fine for me!” Sehun retorted, rolling his eyes. “You’ll make it so easy to win. How long do you want us to go, sir?”

“Until I feel like calling it off,” Kris deadpanned, and he was already stalking away. “Baekhyun— you’ll know when it’s time to take the shot. Follow your instincts.”

“That’s not very helpful,” Baekhyun bemoaned. “Humans don’t have any instincts!”

“Actually, Captain,” Mongryong interrupted cheerfully. “The presence of innate behaviour or instincts in humans is a widely controversial debate that remains to this very day!”

“I guess we’re about to settle it first-hand, then,” Baekhyun muttered, as Sehun also moved away from him casually, as if he was taking a stroll, but Baekhyun didn’t miss the way the Nightstalker was slowly stretching. Alarmed, he tacked on: “Uh, when do we start?”

“ _You’ve already started,_ ” Kris’s voice came through his comm rather than anywhere near him. “ _Enjoy yourselves, Guardians._ ”

“So, I take aim,” Sehun shouted, gesturing at a confused Baekhyun from afar. “I line up the shot. And _then_ I pull the bow.”

And what a bow it was.

Sehun’s Light was magnificent. A royal purple of tiny stars that seemingly manifested out of nowhere –from the black holes between the spaces, Baekhyun’s mind supplied belatedly— came together in the shape of a longbow in Sehun’s hands, the remaining energy swirling around him and surrounding his lithe body like a dark nebula. What had Kris called it? A Shadowshot. Yeah. Baekhyun could see it.

Baekhyun could feel it, too, as an arrow of pure Void whistled towards him and tethered itself into his chest, making him contort in pain and everything turn black.

Baekhyun awoke shivering.

“Are you alright?” Sehun asked from above him, lending him his hand to get up. A bit disoriented, Baekhyun took the hand, groaning but just letting Sehun continue. “That took Mongryong a bit to bring you back from.”

“It is my silent protest, Guardian Sehun!” Mongryong exclaimed cheerfully. “I have grown tired of this game and wish to go home!”

“We’ve been at it for… A while,” Vivi admitted. “Uhm, any chance Kris will let us go now?”

“A while?” Baekhyun croaked out, grumpily. “The sun’s setting.”

If Baekhyun never had to train again, he would be more than happy. He would be ecstatic.

Don’t get him wrong— it had been a lot of fun, in the beginning. Kris had been right when he said Sehun and he were evenly matched, and once Baekhyun had come back from that very first death, he was ready to settle the score. It came like a second nature, to sneak away from Sehun, hunting him down like prey, and when the Nightstalker was least expecting it, cock the Ace of Spades back and watch the pretty light show.

Sehun was a good fucking shot. Baekhyun had lost count of how many Void arrows –and regular arrows, when Sehun drained his Light— he had barely avoided, sprinting as a rain of bolts fell upon him, all while Kris barked at them with a number of things they could be doing _much_ better.

“Why are you closing with a flaming knife, Baekhyun? That’s desperate. Gunslingers are never desperate.” He would scold whenever Baekhyun conjured a blade of fire and made it spin towards Sehun’s chest.

“A smoke bomb is not a grenade, you rookie!” He would yell at Sehun whenever the younger Hunter would toss a smoke bomb Baekhyun’s way and Baekhyun would emerge from the fog barely dizzy and shooting at Sehun’s head.

“You’re a dead giveaway, for fuck’s sake. Can you _be_ more obvious?” He would deadpan whenever Baekhyun stood too close to his own trip mines, eager to see the results while taunting Sehun to come get him.

“What good is that invisibility if you’re on the other side of the arena, Sehun?” He would question tiredly, whenever Sehun crouched and Baekhyun was too far away to –not— see him anyway.

“That precision firefly kill is cute, but it’s not what I’m asking. Give me your Golden Gun,” Kris would stress whenever Baekhyun got the space right between Sehun’s eyes, his body exploding gruesomely into fire.

“I’ll admit that blue fire is nice, but it’s still not your Golden Gun,” Kris would remind obnoxiously whenever Baekhyun lit up his Ace of Spades, hurting Sehun even more each time.

“What are you doing, Baekhyun?” Kris was starting to grow impatient every time the Gunslinger got a bullet out of its chamber and it _wasn’t_ golden. “I _said_ I want to see your Golden Gun.”

“ _Baekhyun_ ,” Kris demanded with irritation. “Your Golden Gun. _Use it._ ”

“Baekhyun.”

“Where’s that Golden Gun?”

“Is this a game to you?”

“Baekhyun!”

“Byun!”

“Get your Golden Gun out!”

“I don’t know how!” Baekhyun had finally snapped an hour before. “Stop asking for it! It’s not happening!”

Kris’s silence was filled with disappointment. Sehun had gone a little easier on him, Baekhyun thought.

It wasn’t like he didn’t want to or couldn’t feel it under his skin. The same burning feeling from yesterday’s match kept building up inside of Baekhyun, until it grew unbearable with no way to be released. His blood had been replaced with liquid lava and the oxygen he breathed in scorched his lungs, his limbs trembling with the strange fever that wouldn’t break, sweat evaporating so quickly there was no way it was helping cool him down. More than once, Baekhyun gasped for air behind a crate, hoping Sehun wouldn’t find him, Mongryong watching him pitifully, fearing he would die right then and there with how hot he felt.

He tried his best. He tried to overthink it, not think about it at all, find inspiration in Kris’s words, imagine Shin Malphur having a showdown with Dredgen Yor, take Sehun’s advice of aiming before even pulling his hand cannon out—

—and yet, nothing Baekhyun tried turned into a Golden Gun. Nothing turned into a weapon of pure fire and flames simmering in his hand to calcine Sehun.

What kind of Gunslinger couldn’t do the single thing Gunslingers did best?

“ _I think we’ve all had enough_ ,” Kris’s voice finally through Baekhyun’s thundering mind. “ _I’ll be waiting for you in the exit._ ”

Sehun pulled off his helmet, and Baekhyun did the same. At least he had given the Nightstalker a run for his money— his peach-coloured hair was matted with sweat, but his brow furrowed when he saw Baekhyun’s admittedly sour expression.

“Are you feeling okay?” He asked carefully.

Baekhyun only clenched his jaw, storming away.

He knew he was being unfair to Sehun. But his whole body throbbed unpleasantly, the burning fire slowly putting itself out, leaving him unsatisfied and with aches all over.

He was still shivering when he saw Kris with a scowl on his face, Sehun slowly walking behind him with their two Ghosts. Once they were standing in front of each other, Baekhyun couldn’t help the way he glared at Kris, though the Vanguard Hunter didn’t seem intimidated. He levelled Baekhyun with an aggravated gaze, and it was RouRou who broke the tension.

“Good job, everybody!” The Ghost cheered nervously. “You did great today, really. We saw a lot of progress!”

“Thank you, Friendly Ghost RouRou!” Mongryong enthused merrily. “We are truly natural at killing other Guardians!”

RouRou and Vivi laughed apprehensively.

“It was a good start,” Kris finally acquiesced, but he was serious as he didn’t even spare Sehun a glance, eyes locked on Baekhyun’s form. “Tomorrow, you’ll do better. Sehun, you need to work on keeping your weapons straight. Baekhyun, you need to listen to your gut.”

“I’m listening to my gut just fine,” Baekhyun gritted out under Kris’s sceptical eyes. “Can I go now? I need to go to the clinic. Get my test results.”

“Do you know the way?” Kris asked simply, and Baekhyun nodded tersely. “Just in case, Sehun should go with you—”

Baekhyun took off, fuming. He could hear Kris sigh heavily behind him, Mongryong hastily yet happily saying goodbye, and Sehun murmur something to Kris, before he couldn’t hear them anymore as he entered the halls of the annex of the Tower.

“Captain, I can sense your anger!” Mongryong announced joyfully. “Do not fret! I am equipped to deal with such unpleasant emotions in a non-destructive manner! We must find you a pillow and you must scream into it!”

Baekhyun screamed, as loudly as he could, still rushing down the hall and up a set of stairs, not bothering to muffle it in any way. He did feel a little bit better, at least, even if his eyes were a little bit teary with frustration.

“I suppose that works too! Your heartrate has gone down!” Mongryong commended. “Do it again, Captain!”

Baekhyun screamed again, but it was weaker this time. The dark tunnels he was going through would take him up to the bazaar soon enough, which he knew would be filled with people. He wasn’t keen on anyone seeing him like this.

“Well done!” Mongryong applauded. “Yay! Your blood pressure has also gone down! Good job! We have averted a crisis!”

“It’s not a crisis to feel bad,” Baekhyun remarked softly, not liking the way his voice came out raspy. “I’m frustrated. Aren’t you?”

“I am incapable of communicating my frustration, Captain!” Mongryong reminded him in his most cheerful tone, just as they stepped outside once more.

The energy of the bazaar helped his mood, Baekhyun had to admit. Something about the small crowd as he came up the stairs settled his sunfire, in a way that didn’t hurt so much. There were small stalls everywhere, and pretty lights, and cooing pigeons, and the Traveller watching over him. Now, all he felt was exhaustion and hunger.

Well. That ramen stand was still right there, and it smelled really good. Sehun would come up after a while, wouldn’t he?

“How about some noodles, Mongryong?” He told his Ghost.

“I cannot eat, Captain!” Mongryong reminded him merrily. “However, you can order some while I fetch back Friendly Ghost Vivi and Guardian Sehun! My analysis tells me that after anger, some sadness is expected, and I do not have ice cream at my disposition to cheer you up!”

Was it dangerous to let his Ghost go off on his own? Chanyeol did it all the time with Toben. And Mongryong knew his way around the Tower much better than Baekhyun did, at this point.

He shrugged. “Sure. Don’t get lost, okay?”

“I will not, Captain! Do not suffer too much!” Mongryong enthused, and then he had cloaked away, leaving Baekhyun to his own devices. He turned back to the ramen stand, his stomach growling.

He slipped onto one of the stools, fanning his chest with the front of his poncho. The old man manning the stand nodded at him with a pitying smile, and the Hunter supposed he looked as haggard as he felt. Baekhyun resisted the urge to flip him off.

“Hey,” He said instead. “Could I get— uh,” Baekhyun stalled when he realised he hadn’t looked at the menu. “…Anything?”

The man blinked at him. Baekhyun blinked back. Someone slipped on the stool besides his.

“Hey, Kangho,” A familiar voice greeted the man, and Baekhyun turned to look at IU. The medic Guardian looked just as tired as he did. “Could you get us two spicy ramen bowls?”

“Right away, doctor,” Kangho answered, and nodding at Baekhyun again, this time with a smile before giving them their back. IU looked Baekhyun up and down, while he did the same to her, before she offered him her hand.

“Looking rough, Baekhyun,” She drawled as they shook hands. He chuckled self-deprecatingly.

“Likewise, doc,” He replied. “I was actually just gonna go see you after this.”

IU groaned, closing her eyes, surprising Baekhyun with her strong reaction.

“Don’t even,” The medic pleaded in a flat voice, moving her hand in a denying motion as they both let go. “You bring bad luck to my clinic. I was processing your samples this morning, and the machine broke down right there on the spot. It was on its last legs already, and today it just— short circuited.”

The Gunslinger pursed his lips and nodded gingerly, understanding.

“You know what? I don’t have the emotional capacity to be upset at that right now,” Baekhyun deadpanned. “Even my blood has bad juju today. Sorry, doc.”

IU shook her head, shrugging with exhaustion.

“It’s not you, it’s me,” She lamented flatly, resting her chin on her hands. She did look a little bit dead inside. “I have the bad juju.”

Kangho came back, with two shots of a bright blue liquid. He winked at the both of them. “On the house.”

Baekhyun perked up, taking his shot glass in his hand without hesitation.

“Wow, thank you,” He expressed excitedly, and turned to IU with bright eyes. “What a nice guy. Huh. Wanna do a toast, doc? To bad juju.”

“To bad juju,” IU agreed, and they clinked their shots before downing them in one go. Baekhyun cringed at the awful, awful bitter flavour that seemed to get to his head in a second, and he bounced on the spot a couple times, as if that would get rid of the disgusting taste. IU didn’t fare much better, shaking her head vigorously from side to side. “Ugh. This never gets better.”

“What did we just have?” Baekhyun eyed his shot glass suspiciously, only a drop of the blue liquid remaining, neon in its brightness. He tilted the glass back over his lips until the drop fell, and it was just as awful as it had been the first time around. “It’s disgusting. Can we get another?”

“I forget you’re a new light,” IU commented, still shaking off the aftershock of their drink away. “That was Immortalia. Helps with the Guardian jitters. Kangho’s the only person in this whole City with access to it.”

She was already flagging Kangho down again, even if they were the only two people in his stand. The cook seemed to understand what she wanted, because he produced a bottle of the neon blue drink –it was more of a glow-in-the-dark cyan, Baekhyun supposed— and Baekhyun eagerly offered his shot glass back to get more of the Traveller-forsaken beverage.

“Why?” Baekhyun asked curiously. “Is it illegal?”

IU snorted darkly.

“Let’s just say I wouldn’t prescribe it,” She offered cryptically, and that was good enough for Baekhyun as they clinked glasses again. “Cheers.”

“Cheers!” He knocked back the shot of Immortalia with much more zest this time around. The taste was nowhere near better. He smacked his lips a couple of times, making a face as IU pinched the bridge of her nose. “Oh, wow, what’s in this?”

“I’ve never known,” IU admitted sagely, licking her lips and looking forward into space. “It was made to relieve crippling existential crises of second lives. Potent stuff, if you wanna stop wondering about whoever you were before you were rezz’ed.”

“Sounds exactly like what I need,” Baekhyun conceded wistfully. Would it be too much to ask for a third shot? The tang of the drink kind of made him want to wretch, but also— he felt like dancing. Or maybe saving a couple of kittens from trees. Saving kittens from trees while dancing? That sounded about right.

“Bad day?” IU wondered as Kangho brought them steaming bowls of noodles. The spices wafting from them were making Baekhyun’s nose itch, but he was just so damn hungry.

“Thank you!” Baekhyun chirped while Kangho wordlessly served them a third shot. Wow, the service in this ramen stand was just— absolutely amazing! He would have to drag Chanyeol here one of these days. He hummed as he acknowledged IU’s words. “I guess you could say that.”

He risked a glance over to IU, who had no qualms to begin digging into her ramen despite the smoke actually blowing in her face. She had white armour, and a pretty white cape with a hood.

“Say, doc,” He began, as he wrapped noodles around his chopsticks. “You’re a Hunter. What kind?”

“What kind?” She echoed before slurping an impressive mouthful of noodles and chewing thoughtfully. “An Arcstrider. You know. The ones with the blue staff?”

“Damn,” He muttered. “I need a Gunslinger to teach me how to make a Golden Gun. I can’t do one.”

“Just follow your gut, Baekhyun,” IU said unhelpfully. Baekhyun groaned.

“Everyone says that,” He complained. “But what does that _mean_?”

“I don’t know, but I do know all that Immortalia isn’t good on an empty stomach,” She advised. “C’mon. Eat up. Doctor’s orders.”

They ate in relative silence, only the sound of their slurping and Baekhyun’s sniffling being heard. He wasn’t sure how long it had been, but Mongryong had to have been gone for half an hour now, and Kangho was _really_ attentive with those shots, because he had to have had at least six by the time he had finished his bowl.

All his troubles concerning any Golden Guns and his inability to produce one had faded away, leaving behind only a euphoric yet lazy buzz. With ramen replacing the pit in his stomach and spice burning his mouth instead of actual fire, he no longer felt like dancing and saving kittens. He wanted to cuddle up to Chanyeol instead, to at least end the day on a good note. Oh. Maybe dancing with Chanyeol. Dancing and saving a kitten with Chanyeol? And then cuddling. Wow. That was the best idea Baekhyun had ever had.

“This ramen stand is _lit_ ,” He decided, nudging IU’s shoulder with his hand. “Doc, you’re the best. How are we paying for this? Can you call my boyfriend to pick me up?”

“Baekhyun?” A familiar deadpan voice called. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

“Sehunnie!” Baekhyun cheered, turning in the stool and nearly falling over at the sight of the wary-looking Nightstalker. “I’ve been waiting for _ages_!”

“We went looking for you at the clinic,” Sehun explained, putting a steadying hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder. “But they said you hadn’t shown up. We called your comm, but you weren’t picking up. We missed Mongryong a bunch of times. I was about to call Chanyeol.”

“It was truly a comedy of errors, Captain!” Mongryong interjected. “My sensors indicate you have been drinking at a very fast rate!”

“I had to!” Baekhyun pointed an accusatory finger to IU by his side. “You don’t leave a pretty lady to drink by herself! Or a pretty guy! Any pretty person, really, gender notwithstanding—”

“—Baekhyun,” Sehun stopped him, frowning. “Who?”

Baekhyun blinked up at Sehun. He turned sharply to IU’s stool, but she was gone. Baekhyun gasped dramatically.

“Oh no! IU!” He called in distress, and then promptly began singing. “ _Well, no one told me about her! The way she lied!_ ”

“Who is he talking about?” Sehun asked an unamused Kangho.

“He was drinking with the doc from the medical bay,” The cook stated. “She must’ve left when I wasn’t looking.”

“ _Well, no one told me about her! How many people cried!_ ”

“Oh, I actually love this song!” Mongryong exclaimed in recognition.

“How much does he owe you?” Sehun sighed, as he pulled Baekhyun to his feet, who had begun air-playing a piano.

“ _But it’s too late to say you’re sorry,_ ” Mongryong and Baekhyun sang together with feeling. “ _How would I know, why should I care?_ ”

“Oh, nothing!” Kangho replied with a friendly smile. “I’m an old friend of his grandpa. He’s never paid a single glimmer to eat here. The doctor, though…”

“ _Please don’t bother trying to find her!_ ” Baekhyun practically yelled with Mongryong as his piano playing got more passionate. “ _She’s not there!_ ”

“How much does she owe you?” Sehun tried instead as Baekhyun launched into a high-pitched chorus. “Please.”

“ _Well, let me tell you ‘bout the way she looked! The way she’d acted, the colour of her hair! Her voice was soft and cool! Her eyes were clear and bright! But she’s not theeeeere_ —” Sehun muffled all of Baekhyun’s singing by shoving his gloved hand over his mouth, even if Baekhyun complained as loudly as he could, squirming without much success. He didn’t have the strength to squirm.

“Just get Kyoong home safely,” Kangho chuckled. “Thank you for what you’ve done, Traveller’s Chosen.”

“Bye, Kangho!” Baekhyun managed to break free from Sehun to shout his farewells. “Thank you for all the blue!”

He was pretty pliant as Sehun guided him with hands on his shoulders downstairs that would take them to the ground floor and out of the Tower.

“How did you get so drunk in an hour?” Sehun questioned. “Chanyeol’s gonna kill me. I was supposed to get you home early. He was gonna take you out.”

Baekhyun gasped, absolutely heartbroken.

“No! Really?!” Baekhyun slapped his own cheeks a couple of times, as if that would make him break out of his daze. “Oh no! I can’t go out like this! Why did you let me drink so much, Mongryong?!”

“I wasn’t with you, Captain! I do not have remote control on your questionable actions!”

“Rude!”

“I know you were upset, but _this_ upset?” Sehun kept going, as if there was any point on reasoning with Baekhyun. Silly Sehun. Baekhyun would refuse to reason with him, he decided. He still tried to sober up any way he could. “It’s just a stupid Golden Gun. And it’s your first day.”

“It’s embarrassing!” Baekhyun admitted, his resolve not to reason with Sehun crumbling into dust in a second. “Did you _see_ the way Kris looked at me? It was like I disappointed my _dad_. That makes me so sad. I loved my dad!”

“Do you even remember your dad?” Sehun deadpanned.

“Whenever you killed me!” Baekhyun snapped back brattily. “There was so much snow!”

At least, that seemed to shut up Sehun. Baekhyun was more than happy to just lean back obnoxiously as the Nightstalker guided him down the now familiar street that lead to his home, only half-hearing how Vivi relayed to Sehun something about being a little bit more sensitive.

Sehun was silent as they rode the elevator, and as he punched the keycode to the apartment. He was silent as he kept Baekhyun from stumbling into the living room, where Chanyeol was pacing as Yixing watched him, eyes wide when he spotted Baekhyun.

Baekhyun opened his arms energetically.

“Chanyeollie!” He chirped, half-rushing and half-falling into the Titan’s arms. He nuzzled his neck. Wow, Chanyeol even smelt warm. “Baby, let’s go save a kitten!”

“Immortalia?” He heard Yixing ask Sehun knowingly. Sehun grumbled. “I honestly have no idea.”

“Baekhyunnie,” Chanyeol cooed worriedly, a large hand at the small of Baekhyun’s back, and the other at his hip, steadying him, and suddenly Baekhyun wanted to take off his armour and feel him on his skin _right this second_ — “We were supposed to go on a date tonight! What did you do?”

“You should’ve warned me!” Baekhyun proclaimed, pulling his poncho off himself clumsily, catching it on his hair and wincing. “Ow! If you warned me, I wouldn’t have gotten sad.”

“Why did you get sad, baby?” Chanyeol murmured softly. Baekhyun made a shaking fist at the ceiling, morose and upset Chanyeol was this handsome and attentive without even trying.

“I can’t make a stupid Golden Gun,” He declared spitefully. Chanyeol gave him a wide-eyed stare of disbelief. Yixing, in the background, laughed with surprise.

“That is so cute!”

“It is not!” Baekhyun exclaimed, ready to throw hands with Yixing, who only laughed more at his despair. “You take that back, man!”

“Okay,” Chanyeol decided, hugging Baekhyun close to his chest and immediately mollifying him like that. “We’re showering you, then we’re getting you to bed. You smell like ramen and sweat.”

“But what about our date!” Baekhyun pouted. Chanyeol squeezed his hip, unable to hide the fond glint in his eyes.

“We’ll go on one tomorrow,” The Sunbreaker promised. “Let’s go.”

“Ohhh,” Baekhyun imagined as they walked down the hall, Chanyeol taking his hand in his and threading their fingers. He grinned mischievously at Chanyeol. “Let’s take a naughty bath together! Mongryong, don’t come to my bedroom tonight!”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, Captain!” Mongryong confirmed happily.

“We’re not taking a naughty bath together,” Chanyeol denied immediately, and he was so adorable Baekhyun wanted to eat him. “Not until you’re sober. We can have a regular shower together.”

“I’ll take it!”

As Chanyeol led him into their bedroom and into their bathroom, sitting Baekhyun on the toilet and turning on the shower, the euphoria and energy led way to a drowsiness Baekhyun only half-fought. He couldn’t find it in him to be worried that Chanyeol was angry at him— not when the Titan petted his hair whenever their eyes met, concerned frown that drove Baekhyun mad with the desire to kiss him written in his face, as he helped Baekhyun out of his armour and clothing under it, and then got himself out of his own clothes.

Baekhyun tried very hard to be respectful, but it was hard when he was this drunk and Chanyeol’s crotch was right there. He sneaked a glance in spite of himself and drawled a loud: “Wow.”

Chanyeol, who had been testing the water’s temperature and was just pure muscle and broad shoulders and incredible arms and very well-endowed, spluttered and flushed.

“I said regular shower!” He reminded Baekhyun with decision. “Regular shower! If you behave, _maybe_ I’ll give you a kiss.”

“Now you’re just blackmailing me,” Baekhyun clicked his tongue in disapproval. “Kick a man when he’s down, will you?”

Chanyeol’s expression did soften again at that, and he pulled Baekhyun to his feet and into the water with him. This warmth felt nice against Baekhyun’s skin, and he shivered despite himself.

“What happened today?” Chanyeol asked gently. “What went wrong?”

“I can’t follow my gut, apparently,” Baekhyun confessed. He groaned, as Chanyeol squirted shampoo on his hand and began rubbing it over Baekhyun’s hair. Baekhyun was forced to look down, and that was just _unfair._ “Can’t call the Golden Gun. I can make a killer Blade Barrage, but Kris didn’t like it. Stupid Kris.”

Chanyeol hummed in understanding.

“When I got started, I couldn’t get my Hammer of Sol right,” He revealed thoughtfully. “I could do— stuff. Just not the fucking Hammer. Had to go train in fucking Mercury to get it right. Sunside. Nobody tells you how hard it actually is to get your Super. It’s really personal.”

That sounded way better than whatever bullshit Kris had been telling him all day— which was just a bunch of yelling, really.

“You, Godslayer, not getting a Hammer of Sol right? I don’t believe it,” Baekhyun teased, making Chanyeol chuckle.

“It’s just Kingslayer,” Chanyeol corrected with mirth, threading soapy fingers through Baekhyun’s hair in the nicest of massages. “And it’s true! Sunbreakers are pretty secretive. Had to figure out the whole process for myself.”

“And what works for you?” Baekhyun asked, taking his hands to Chanyeol’s bare hips just because he could. He had closed his eyes by now, lest shampoo get all inside of them, even if he had to deprive himself from the view of Chanyeol’s chest right now. Very sad.

“By now, I don’t have to think about it,” Chanyeol explained. “I just— reach out. But back then, I just thought about… About how silent the Traveller is. And how much that upset me.”

“Silent?” Baekhyun repeated to confirm, opening one eye to peer at Chanyeol. “It’s never silent.”

Chanyeol gave him a slightly bitter smirk.

“It is to me,” The Titan said. “I’ve never heard a word. Or a vision. Or anything. Just a whole lotta silence.”

“I hear things all the time,” Baekhyun found himself suddenly confessing. “I see things— when I die.”

“I wish Jongdae was here,” Chanyeol mused. “He’d know what to do with that. He loves to see things when he dies.”

There was no temperature in the Infinite Forest. It was strange, not to be hot nor to be cold— not to be comfortable or uncomfortable either. Jongdae wondered if it had anything to do with the infinite realities expanding across, unstoppable and beautiful, that didn’t allow for his puny physical form of _this_ reality perceive any climate.

“Luhan could be anywhere,” Pepper warned urgently. “Put in the wrong coordinates and we’ll never find our way out of this place.”

“Luhan—” Jongdae took a deep breath, as he cleaned the blood off the barrel of the Jade Rabbit. “—Luhan _needs_ us. He’s in here, somewhere, protecting us from the Vex, and I can’t believe I just said that, that was physically painful to me. We have to find him.”

Mercury was an absolute mess, Jongdae had been quick to realise. Parallel realities were ongoing in every direction he looked, fragmented into a million pieces like a mirror. He wasn’t sure how it had happened, or why. After killing the nth copy of the Nightmare trying to assassinate him, or trying to take Xiaotong from him, and praying to the Traveller every time this wasn’t the time he upset _this_ space-time continuum— the Warlock was running out of ideas.

Or, he had one idea. Luhan was stupid and did stupid things. Like those stupid Reflections.

“Warlock Chen!” The hologram of pure Light of Luhan that had greeted him when opening the door to the Infinite Forest with _sheer_ willpower exclaimed with trepidation. “You shouldn’t be here. What have you done?”

“What have _you_ done?” Jongdae retorted. “What are you even doing? Do you know the danger the Last City is in right now? Of course you do, you egomaniac! All you do is look into the future!”

To his credit, the Reflection of Luhan was not upset. It merely disappeared, and Jongdae was forced to venture deeper, following the shadows of Light through spires of Vex creations and doors that would open to their whim, without any rhyme or reason that Jongdae could make out.

“Send word,” The Reflection told another, and Jongdae gritted his teeth. One Luhan was more than enough. “Warlock Chen is searching for council.”

“Searching for council, my ass,” Jongdae muttered under his breath. “Get back here, you—!”

The Reflection of Luhan materialised in front of him. Jongdae stepped back, surprised. Those eyes were nothing but Light.

“Tell me, Guardian,” The Reflection asked, careful and slow. “Were you there when the Traveller woke? A living Traveller changes everything. For good and for bad. Luhan wrote the lost prophecies to warn the other Guardians, but the Speaker sent him away instead. You cannot exile the future.”

“Then what are you wasting time for?!” Jongdae shouted in frustration. “How long have we been in this Forest?! Hours? Days? Months? Years? Luhan, the Pyramids—”

The Reflection shushed him harshly.

“Do not speak of those wretched things in my Forest,” Luhan hissed. “They are always watching. I sent Xiaotong away to protect her, and you have brought her back!”

“You nearly killed her!”

Reality changed once again. Jongdae didn’t know how many times this had happened now. Nothing was real, and yet everything was. His Light buzzed with warning, trying to guide him, but he could not hear its call in this sea of nothing and everything all at once.

“Across all realities, all of our enemies move,” The Reflection of Luhan relayed darkly. “The Vex will stop at nothing to get the future they desire. A Universe without Light nor Darkness. All life… Lost.”

“Then let me help you stop them!” Jongdae screamed. The Reflection disappeared once more. Jongdae ran. There was nothing under his feet, but his boots clacked onto infinity loudly, echoing throughout emptiness. “Minseok needs you!”

He wished he was Baekhyun, for a moment. Baekhyun would not have to chase Luhan through infinity. Luhan would find Baekhyun himself, fascinated by—

The laughter was back. Jongdae’s blood chilled, and he drew out his gun, but the Nightmare had found him once more.

Baekhyun had such a wicked grin of delight. The Ace of Spades in his hand was inverted, just like the scavenger in front of Jongdae, behind Jongdae, by Jongdae’s side, everywhere—

“Found you,” The Nightmare crooned for what must have been the thousandth time. “Chen, Chen, Chen. You’re too slow! This isn’t so much fun anymore. I’m bored!”

“You’re not Baekhyun,” Jongdae repeated for what felt like the millionth time. “Stop feeding me lies, you monster!”

Not Baekhyun cackled.

“I don’t know how!” He cried in mockery. “Stop asking for it! It’s not happening!”

Jongdae shot, but Not Baekhyun was used to it by now. He merely turned into rarefied air, gone for the meantime. But it was a reprieve.

“Luhan!” Jongdae called urgently. “Luhan, this whole place is riddled with Darkness!”

“I must stop Panoptes!” The Reflection of Luhan flickered to life. “Or there will be no Darkness for you to fight!”

“That doesn’t sound like a bad outcome!” Jongdae retorted. Luhan faded once more, appearing again in another spire that had to be kilometres away, or only centimetres, or Traveller knew—

“You must see beyond it!” Luhan urged. “See beyond its mere destruction! It will never be enough!”

“Then what will be?!”

“The right timeline, Warlock Chen!” Luhan’s voice echoed everywhere all at once, as the Forest changed yet again, and this time, Jongdae was back in the dune, climbing towards the Lighthouse.

Not again.

“H-How—” Jongdae breathed. “H-How do the pilgrims of the Lighthouse s-survive this on a daily basis? _How?_ ”

It was so hot here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chen is trapped in a time loop uwu
> 
> how are you?! sorry I took so long! in between, i uploaded a drabble on kris, and that always makes me a little lenient on updates in main story. plus, baekhyun was misbehaving! he doesn't want to be a guardian! and so, i worked that into the story.
> 
> this is a bit shorter than usual (lol) but i hope it's still to your liking! i hope you're all safe and well, wherever you are. hey! happy birthday yixing! am i a day late?


	4. the price of a double-sided coin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: mentions of suicide

**iv. the price of a double-sided coin**

Baekhyun wished he could tell you things were getting better. Really, he did.

“So, what’s your favourite colour?” He asked Chanyeol, relishing in the way the Titan watched Baekhyun’s tiny spoon with strawberry ice cream go into his mouth.

“It’s black,” Chanyeol replied, and flushed when Baekhyun grinned like the cat who got the cream. “It’s a coincidence, okay? I didn’t dye your hair black because it’s my favourite.”

“Hey, you said it, not me,” Baekhyun drawled with a laugh, as Chanyeol only grew redder. Which was funny to Baekhyun, considering _he_ was blushing, because Chanyeol kept trailing his boot up Baekhyun’s leg under the table in a very deliberate manner.

“Shut up,” Chanyeol chuckled nervously. “What’s _your_ favourite colour?”

“Red!” Baekhyun chirped happily, and imitated Chanyeol’s deep, raspy voice to parrot his words: “It’s a coincidence, okay? I didn’t dye your hair red because it’s my favourite.”

“Hey, you said it, not me,” Chanyeol deadpanned in the most high-pitched voice he could, and they both exploded into cackles.

Baekhyun could tell you things were going great with Chanyeol. Every day after training, Chanyeol would be waiting by the Tower’s entrance for the Hunter with a bright, crooked grin and an outstretched hand, ready to take him out exploring or back to their apartment. Toben and Mongryong would always hang behind them, while Baekhyun and Chanyeol held hands as they walked.

It was incredibly easy to talk to Chanyeol— about anything. From the most inane and mundane element of the weather to intimate beliefs and dreams, and everything in between, it seemed like there was nothing out of bounds. Everything flowed between them among playful bickering and coquettish banter, among sincere moments of vulnerability, among good-natured teasing, among giddy bouts of nervousness. Baekhyun knew there was an imbalance of knowledge that he was unwilling to breach just yet, but Chanyeol didn’t really make him feel like it mattered— he was treating their impossibly intense attraction like for him, too, it was new and unexplainable.

And what a passion it was. For all that the Sunbreaker insisted on taking it slow, if Baekhyun managed to get his lips on Chanyeol, there was little that would stop them. Their combined sunfires found them more often than not in the bedroom they shared, in secret corners of the Tower, in the balcony during late nights or early mornings.

“You’re just beautiful,” Chanyeol mumbled between lingering, harsh kisses, large hands gripping Baekhyun’s thighs to lift him up against the wall, Baekhyun groaning as he threaded his fingers in Chanyeol’s hair, bodies pressing deliciously and yet never sated. “I can’t get enough of you.”

Baekhyun couldn’t get enough of Chanyeol, either. He held nothing but adoration and infatuation for the man— carried from another life, yes, but just as authentic and powerful as it had been the first time around.

That wasn’t to say Chanyeol didn’t slip up. That wasn’t to say he didn’t lose his patience. That wasn’t to say he didn’t grow frustrated with Baekhyun’s stubbornness. That wasn’t to say Baekhyun sat down and took it, just because to him, Chanyeol neared perfection.

“You have, in your Ghost, the answers Guardians _kill_ to have,” Chanyeol never seemed to realise how his voice steadily rose with his anger, punching his own chest as if _he_ was, perhaps, the Guardian who would kill for the answers Baekhyun held onto zealously. “And you refuse to see! _No one_ has been as close the Darkness as you in centuries. You could have the key to our salvation right in your pretty head and you are scared of it.”

“The dice are cast already, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun would argue just as loudly, always feeling cornered, like a wild animal trapped in a cage. “I can see, for what? What answers? There’s nothing that could help us. I _died_. It killed me! I didn’t fucking make it. The Darkness is coming whether I look, or I don’t— it’s the present what matters! Not me!”

“Are you scared?” Chanyeol questioned, almost snarling. “Are you afraid of the dark, Baekhyun?”

“The only one scared is you, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun challenged with a sneer. “So fucking eager to turn on the lights.”

By then, one of them —if not both— would storm off with fury. Baekhyun would always return to Kangho’s ramen stand, ask for a bowl of _anything,_ refuse any bitter neon blue drinks he was offered, and sulk.

“Guardian Chanyeol is right, Captain!” Mongryong would chirp happily.

“Oh yeah?” Baekhyun snarked after one particularly vicious row and particularly gruelling training and particularly frustrating day. “If he’s so right, then go right ahead— show me the Darkness. Show me how it killed me. Show me what it made me do.”

Mongryong stood still in the air. His little eye blinked, turned orange for a second, and then glitched back to its baby blue.

“I cannot!” Mongryong announced cheerfully. “There is—”

“—Interference,” Baekhyun would say along with his Ghost, upset and somehow relieved. “I know. I know that.”

At least, Chanyeol and he always made up. He couldn’t really see Chanyeol again and even pretend to give him the cold shoulder, and Chanyeol couldn’t really not hug Baekhyun the second he saw him again.

Apologies would be mumbled between kisses and touches that always grew more heated. They would end up in bed, whether after making love or cuddling as close as they could, until Baekhyun felt brave enough to swallow his pride.

“I am scared of the dark,” He admitted quietly as Chanyeol’s arms tightened around him. “It’s suffocating.”

“I’m scared of the dark, too,” Chanyeol confessed lowly, burying his face in Baekhyun’s collarbone. “I’m scared of losing you in it. Or losing myself.”

And there was no out of that. They could lie together in silence, finding comfort in each other’s presence all they wanted— but every morning was colder than the last one as autumn progressed, and grimmer as no progress was made anywhere else.

Training under Kris’s supervision bore no fruit— or rather, not the fruit they expected. Baekhyun was, indeed, a talented Gunslinger with a natural precision and a burning fire most would envy. He also had a knack for survival and sneaking that easily rivalled Sehun’s— another leftover, Kris assumed. And while strange dreams plagued him in the surreal limbo between Sehun managing a shot and Mongryong raising him once more, Baekhyun hardly spared them a thought. The Ace of Spades was like an extension of himself, its blue fire potent and scorching despite its unique colour, each bullet landing exactly where Baekhyun wanted it to before he even pulled it out— kind of like Sehun did with his bow. Kris did praise it, remarking on how it was as if the hand cannon was alive within its own right, and happy to serve Baekhyun.

But still, no Golden Gun. The Hunter Vanguard’s stern disappointment was palpable. Baekhyun didn’t understand why it always affected him so much— but Kris made him feel small, minute, tiny, and most of all, powerless. He never shouted like he had the first day, and yet his silence was somehow worse. In his stead, RouRou would attempt to reassure Baekhyun, say he merely needed time, that it was only a bump in the road, that his worst enemy was his own insecurities about this.

They lasted four days like this, before Kris announced that perhaps, what Baekhyun truly needed was to meditate on his Light as a Warlock would.

Minseok was a busy man. He had holed himself in a small spire with a dome, the Tower built around, its entrance circular with intricately painted tiles and wooden carvings like the ones in Baekhyun’s apartment building. After three sets of stairs, Baekhyun could find Minseok, surrounded by beautiful rugs, hanging crystal lamps of various colours, towers of leather-bound books, and painted over the ceiling, a complex, detailed geometrical creation of what looked like some golden scripture in a royal blue background, with red and green details that met into a golden, intricate square core. It was recurring and vivid.

“It’s a Mandala,” Minseok explained, as they laid on the Warlock’s plush rugs, staring up at the painting as if it held all the answers to the universe. “That’s as far as we’ve ever gotten. What they meant was lost in the Collapse.”

“Is there anything we didn’t lose in the Collapse?” Baekhyun asked earnestly, eyes glazing with how he refused to look away.

Minseok sighed. “Pigeons.”

It was true. There was an alarming amount of pigeons across the Last City.

Minseok was not only busy, but he was also creative. Finding himself suddenly saddled with the responsibility of Baekhyun’s training didn’t bother him— if anything, Baekhyun was a blessing in disguise, and the Warlock put the Hunter to work by studying the handwritten notes of an old rogue Guardian.

“The Hive are a direct result of a pact between the Darkness and…” Minseok stalled, searching for the appropriate term, and blowing a raspberry when he didn’t find one. “…Proto-Hive, I suppose. Wouldn’t know. I hate those worms. Anyway, they’re the closest you’ll get to the Darkness. The Taken are just a byproduct of their wicked magic, anyway.”

He leaned forward in his plush chair, tapping the hard cover of the book in front of Baekhyun right on the rhombus symbol over it.

“The Book of Sorrow is a compendium of their history, written by their King, Oryx,” Minseok revealed. “It contains everything there is to them— their belief system, their hierarchies, their stories, their philosophies. A map to navigate your way through the Hive, if you will.”

Baekhyun’s eyes were wide. “You want me to read _that_?”

“Goodness, no,” Minseok dismissed quickly. “Your poor uninitiated mind would go mad. No, you’re just gonna read the notes a Shadow of Yor left behind. Much easier. Might resonate much more with you, too.”

“Shadow of Yor?” Baekhyun repeated, looking down at the book curiously. “Like Dredgen Yor?”

Minseok merely hummed, already engrossed in his own book, and Baekhyun knew he had lost him.

The notes were— distressing. Baekhyun had no other way to explain it. He followed Minseok’s instructions to a T —to transcribe into a datapad all and any mentions annihilation, transcendence through destruction, freedom, salvation— but that had resulted in Baekhyun practically copying and pasting information like a machine. Minseok encouraged him to reflect on what he read, because perhaps what impeded Baekhyun’s progress as a Gunslinger wasn’t a faulty grip on his Light, but on his Darkness.

“Whether you are infected now or not is of no importance,” Minseok declared with confidence. “The truth of the matter we all refuse to acknowledge is that you, Baekhyun Byun, were touched to your very core. Something like the Darkness isn’t easily forgotten by our minds and bodies, no matter how many times you’re rezz’ed in between. Maybe you can find a crack in the barriers you’ve built, but you need to search.”

Baekhyun searched and searched and only grew more anguished each day, as the light of day changed and Minseok and he exchanged no words. This Hive— they were obsessed with identity. With _truth_. With clarity. With a journey that included unmaking yourself to become— nothing. Every reading made Baekhyun emerge with more questions, with more whispers, with more watchful invisible eyes, with more confusion, the words of this Shadow of Yor burnt into his memory.

_New is never given, but claimed._

_This comfortable life is no life, fleeting, made to decay._

_Who resides at the core of your being?_

_Do not fear when the whispers carve their welcome._

_Salvation does not want you._

_When imagined, your potential will infect and spread._

_There will be no peace now, not for some time._

_In your pain the whispers find their answers._

_You are alone._

Minseok was right. These notes resonated with Baekhyun alright. It just probably wasn’t the intended effect Minseok had been looking for. Baekhyun felt further from the Light every time he let himself focus for too long in these tomes. He tried to counter this, making conversation with Minseok, like why hadn’t he asked for the portal-making artefacts.

“Luhan gave them to you,” Minseok would say. “I have no say in the matter.”

Why aren’t you worried Jongdae hasn’t called?

“Jongdae is one of the best Warlocks out there,” Minseok would retort. “He doesn’t need to check in every day.”

Do you ever wonder if there’s anything beyond the Traveller?

“Do you ever shut up and work?” Minseok would say, though never unkindly.

On the third day, Minseok and Baekhyun were visited by Hendery and his keeper, Lucas, in the spire. Hendery had found himself flowing robes, and he looked much happier in them, as he hugged Baekhyun and prattled on about his time with Dead Orbit. But then, the young Guardian had taken one look around Baekhyun, rather than at him, and he had been alarmed.

“Baekhyun, pull,” He begged urgently, the boy stepping away, lifting his arms and then rapidly pulling them down. “ _Pull_.”

“I don’t know what he means,” Lucas deadpanned when Baekhyun stared at him inquisitively. “He says a lot of weird things.”

“Why are you not pulling?” Hendery stressed, eyes growing like dinner plates as he flapped his arms even more. Baekhyun turned to Minseok, who was surprisingly pensive.

“Well?” The Warlock prompted with a raised eyebrow. “Why aren’t you pulling?”

Baekhyun lifted his arms, like Hendery showed him, and then dropped his arms strongly, as if he were pulling on imaginary strings. Hendery grinned at him, pleased and relieved, and Baekhyun half-smiled back, confused. Lucas looked up at the Mandala with dead tired eyes. Minseok jumped out of his chair, and nearly caught Baekhyun’s fingers with the intensity he closed the book on the Hunter’s lap, snatching it away from him.

“Okay,” Minseok attempted to smile as well, but he was frazzled, eyes darting to Hendery and then back to Baekhyun. “Okay, I think I can’t do anything for you, Baekhyun. I’m sorry I wasted your time.”

And so, with more inquiries than answers than when he had first arrived, Baekhyun was banished from Minseok’s spire and sent off to Junmyeon, because maybe what Baekhyun needed was the discipline and rigour of a Titan.

The Commander was always on the move— a distinction between his combat-oriented Hunter and studious Warlock counterparts. Their two days together started earlier and ended later than every single day Baekhyun had spent in the company of the Vanguard, and it severely cut into his time with Chanyeol, which displeased him. However, it was a welcome change of pace.

Junmyeon was affable and charismatic, but in no way a pushover. The mornings were spent rushing through the Last City, overseeing the rebuilding efforts and mingling with the citizens, Baekhyun watching as the Commander personally handed supplies, lit purple candles for the Festival of the Lost, gave rousing speeches in every sector, shook hands, and kissed babies like he was a politician rather than a military strategist.

Baekhyun was popular, too. It unsettled him, how people approached him instead of Junmyeon sometimes, asking him familiarly how he was, that they had heard about the Byun Farm, that they were forever grateful to him— it was only when Baekhyun’s smile remained frozen on his face for far too long that some of them realised that this was not the Baekhyun Byun they remembered.

“Oh,” Most would say in awkward realisation.

“Of course,” More than half added with a chuckle.

“Are you a Gunslinger?” One particularly old woman asked without shame, nodding in approval when he confirmed it. “As expected.”

“As expected,” Baekhyun echoed with a bitter smile. He was starting to hate Baekhyun Byun.

After visiting citizens, Junmyeon took tours throughout the headquarters of factions. He explained them in detail to Baekhyun. New Monarchy, Dead Orbit, and Future War Cult had been around for a very long time— established organisations with fierce ideals that still managed to draw in younger Guardians. The three factions were a part of the Consensus, and Junmyeon was forced to negotiate with them, especially now that the division of power was unclear. Apparently, the Vanguard and the factions had always deferred to the Speaker, but with that figure gone, Junmyeon had been named the de facto head and hence, leader of the Last City.

In the headquarters of every faction, Junmyeon would unsubtly pair up Baekhyun with a resident Gunslinger, if they had one, and suggest asking for advice while he closed himself away in lengthy discussions with the chief figures.

In New Monarchy, he was faced with the Hunter he had killed during that very first Crucible match— Haechan, if Baekhyun remembered correctly, who was Mark Lee’s friend and hated fighting so much he would rather cheat. He looked Baekhyun up and down with a smug face and crossed arms, as if sizing him up, and Baekhyun gave him a rueful smirk, because this was a brat that he had in front of him.

“So, tell me about your Golden Gun,” Baekhyun asked with little pride, because on his seventh day, he had very little dignity left. Haechan’s eyes twinkled with mischievousness.

“Let’s see,” Haechan drawled out. “It’s golden. It’s a gun. Let me see if there’s anything else… No! That would be it.”

“Okay, smartass,” Baekhyun snarked right back, not losing his smirk. “You won that match, so lay off the attitude.”

“Stop trying to terrorise Mark, and I’ll lay off,” Haechan snapped right back. Baekhyun gawked, because he didn’t have the plague and it wasn’t his fault Mark Lee hadn’t returned the SUROS Regime he had lent him on their match. Making threatening comments at Mark whenever they ran into each other in the Tower and he didn’t have the rifle with him hardly counted as terrorising him.

“Tell Mark to give back my toys, and _I’ll_ lay off, and everybody’ll be happy.” He conceded to Haechan. Maybe he couldn’t do a Golden Gun, but a SUROS Regime would surely help him blow some steam with its unrelenting bullet rain.

There were no Gunslingers in Dead Orbit, but Hendery was there, surrounded by Ghosts that Mongryong was eager to join, floating around him as if enchanted by him. Baekhyun could understand the fascination— Hendery hadn’t lost that royal, elegant aura of his, nor his warm, innocent grin, even if the bags under his eyes were quite pronounced.

“It’s just very hard to sleep, because there’s just so much—” Hendery batted his hands by his ears, as if mimicking loud noises, cringing. Baekhyun frowned. Truthful to Sehun’s word, the energy the Traveller seemed to hum with had grown tolerable with the passing of time, but Hendery didn’t seem to have the same experience.

“Is there anything I can do?” Baekhyun asked, worried for the child he had sort of adopted. Hendery’s eyes were sad and pleading.

“Tell me how to talk to people,” The boy begged with joint hands. “The boys, Lucas— they’re scared of me. They say I say strange things. But I can’t help it, the Traveller speaks and speaks and speaks and sometimes it’s too much for me. She wants to flee, but I need to stay, or who will hear her cries?”

The boys of Dead Orbit were right. Hendery did say many strange things. But it was hardly fair. He didn’t deserve to be tip-toed around. Baekhyun had hated every second anyone had tip-toed around him. So Hendery deserved genuine advice, even if he was no Gunslinger –what was he, anyway?— and couldn’t offer Baekhyun any of his own.

“Tell jokes,” Baekhyun suggested. “Be the funniest guy in the room. They’ll forgive you being a little weird if you make them laugh.”

Taeyong, at least, in Future War Cult, was a welcomed face. His smile was easy and warm when Baekhyun came to him, although by now, the black-haired Hunter didn’t have any expectations or hopes that this boy could help him.

“I asked around a little about you,” Taeyong revealed, eyebrows downturned with something akin to sadness but lips quirked up in something akin to happiness. “The Skulking Fox. I’m really sorry. I’ve never heard of such an overlap between lives. Nobody must let you forget who you were.”

“Exactly,” Baekhyun deflated with the relief of _finally_ being understood. “I don’t mind keeping the name, I don’t mind being the Fox, but is it too much to ask for a little bit of space? Figure out who I am now, in my core?”

“It’s not rare for people of the Last City to become Guardians,” Taeyong mused wistfully. “But some time usually passes. Enough time so others forget you. You know, there’s a lot of Guardians out there obsessed with who they must’ve been, what they knew, what they saw, when we should see the Traveller’s Light as the clean slate it is.”

“You know, you should tell my boyfriend this,” Baekhyun joked and Taeyong laughed.

When they were done with the factions, Junmyeon would take Baekhyun back to the Tower and into his office. He would make radio calls, direct strikes, attempt contact with Jongdae, and then chat with Jongin and Kyungsoo –they were dealing with a big worm, it was pretty bad and cold in Mars, Baekhyun was only half-listening— and argue with Lord Donghae while Baekhyun was allowed to tinker with the tools he found. Once he was done, it would always be past twilight. The Traveller was dark and looming, and Junmyeon turned in his chair, staring up at the drawing Baekhyun had made of a Pyramid days ago.

“You didn’t wipe it off,” The Hunter remarked. Junmyeon hummed.

“It’s a reminder,” The Titan replied. “A reminder that I can work all day, talk to this whole City, promise hope all I want… And it might not be enough.”

“Grim,” Baekhyun quipped, and Junmyeon chuckled, not disagreeing. “Come on. It can’t be that bad.”

“You tell me,” Junmyeon said, turning his eyes to Baekhyun. “You’re the one who saw them. Is it that bad?”

His terror was giddy. There was perhaps nothing eviller, more sinister, more destructive, more hateful of all that lived and grew and thrived. Bored, detached voices in his head would mutter that no, Baekhyun, you have it all wrong, while others screamed at him to flee, to give up the Traveller, to save himself and his friends. But most of all, there was nothing. Absence of absence, even. The Darkness would leave nothing behind if –when— it reached them.

He thoughts of things at home. How Chanyeol and he spoke of the Darkness in hushed voices. How Tao was growing more and more anxious, and Sehun and he fought often over how worried they should be about the future. How Yixing was withdrawn in thought often times. How Kyungsoo and Jongin were only more frazzled every time they communicated, muttering about ice, about worms, about Rasputin, about ballet, about having to go _right now the earth is shaking_. How Jongdae didn’t try to contact them at all.

“Yeah,” He admitted quietly. “I guess it is.”

Junmyeon smiled, but it didn’t have the hundred megawatts of brightness Baekhyun had grown used to.

“Did you get your test results back yet?” He asked. Baekhyun shook his head, pouting now.

“You know, that doc is really hard to get a hold of,” Baekhyun observed. After their stint at the ramen stand, Baekhyun had visited the clinic every day, but IU was always busy or not around, refusing to meet with him. “It’s getting annoying. I just wanna know if I’m still infected.”

Junmyeon hummed once more in understanding.

“Don’t we all,” The Commander sighed. “Maybe that’s it. You cannot get any peace of mind like that. How are you supposed to conjure a Golden Gun under that pressure? The pressure of it not being of Light, but of Sorrow?”

“Of Sorrow? Like the Book of Sorrow?”

“You’ve been studying,” Junmyeon commended. “Did Kris tell you the story of Shin Malphur and Dredgen Yor?”

“Only in passing, sir.”

“It’s a Hunter favourite,” Junmyeon commented, leaning back in his chair. “A great tale for children. A cautionary tale for the rest of us. The thing with legends about Guardians is that the protagonists often… Remain, beyond their stories. It’s not fixed to never be altered. Shin Malphur is a renegade, now. Unwelcome in the City.”

Baekhyun blinked, surprised. “Kris… Painted him as sort of a hero.”

“Of course,” Junmyeon conceded placatingly. “Shin Malphur _was_ once, a hero. Dredgen Yor, much like you, Baekhyun, was once infected with the Darkness. In his downfall, he was able to conjure weapons that could consume Light, and he hungered for it. We called those Weapons of Sorrow, because they reminded us of the Hive. Only Shin Malphur and his Golden Gun, his pure Light, were able to stop Dredgen in his unmaking. But Shin… Shin only held resentment in his heart.”

“Resentment over what?”

“Long before, Dredgen Yor had killed his family and his mentor,” Junmyeon narrated, getting a faraway look in his eyes. “He had dedicated his life to chasing Dredgen down. Once that was over, Shin must’ve found himself without a purpose. And so, he made one.”

Junmyeon’s gaze focused once more, settling on Baekhyun’s raptured form.

“Shin took the name of Dredgen, and took Dredgen’s sickness to make it a teaching,” The Titan revealed. “His reasoning was that weaker Guardians would be tempted by the Darkness, by its promises, by its philosophy, and therefore, they had to be culled. So, he secretly devised a group, the Shadows of Yor, to find those Guardians that would willingly take Dredgen’s name as well and then— eliminate them. You can see why that’s questionable at best.”

“Wow,” Baekhyun intoned, pensive. “Not the most upstanding member of society, that Shin.”

 _You would’ve joined the Shadows in a second,_ a voice within Baekhyun teased. _You would be Dredgen, as well. You might be Dredgen, right now._

“No,” Junmyeon agreed with a tired snort. “Guardians don’t search for ways to make other Guardians slip up. We can all feel the siren’s call of unknown power. It’s important we keep each other in check, rather than condemning us to fail.”

“That sounds nice. Good rule of thumb,” Baekhyun admitted. “Do Guardians usually follow it?”

Junmyeon’s smile, this time, was brighter— much more akin to what Baekhyun had grown accustomed to.

“Half and half, maybe,” The Commander mused and winked at Baekhyun. “We’re immortal, but we’re still human.”

The Titan looked down at the screen on his desk, smile dimmed but still warm. “Same time tomorrow?”

“Sure,” Baekhyun agreed, because what else was he supposed to say? It had been nine days of a whole lot of nothing, after all. What was another? “I like being your shadow, Commander.”

“You’re a much more pleasant shadow than my usual. Much chattier,” Junmyeon joked good-naturedly. “I’ll make sure we have your test results tomorrow. Doctor Hyoyeon can’t keep stalling on this matter. I’ll speak with her.”

Baekhyun tilted his head. “Hyoyeon? Is that her real name?”

“Yes,” Junmyeon revealed easily, like it was no big deal. Baekhyun had already lost half his attention, anyway. “Why?”

“She told me to call her IU.”

“Interesting,” Junmyeon intoned, but Baekhyun was certain he hadn’t actually been heard, the Titan already submerged into whatever he was reading. “Go home, Baekhyunnie Byun. Call your brother.”

“Maybe I will,” Baekhyun replied, and bid Junmyeon a good night as he left the office.

Today, he would have to walk home on his own. Chanyeol had finally managed to track down his assignment —find and contact Sunhee Lee, whoever that was— and he had to go physically fetch her at the Dreadnaught in Saturn. Sehun was going to try and distract Tao with a night out. Yixing had also decided he had been cooped up too long, and was going to visit a haunted house to celebrate the Festival of the Lost. He had invited Baekhyun along, but something about ghosts hadn’t settled well with Baekhyun, and he had declined.

Well… Maybe he could drink again at Kangho’s stall. While the next morning had been absolute hell, that night had been fun. Immortalia was nice. Baekhyun definitely had the Guardian jitters again, and no one to stop him.

“Mongryong, you can lead me home if I’m drunk, can’t you?” He asked his Ghost, though his mind was already made up as he walked in direction to the bazaar.

“Must I, Captain?” Mongryong wondered happily. “But yes! I can exercise some control over your motor functions in emergencies!”

“Then that’s what we’ll do tonight,” Baekhyun decided, crossing the bridge back to the courtyard.

“Oh no!” Mongryong enthused cheerfully. “Captain, allow me to enumerate the reasons on why getting intoxicated on your own is an unhealthy pastime!”

“Request denied!” Baekhyun chirped. “I am your Captain, you gotta listen to me.”

“Wow! That reasoning is flawless!” Mongryong snarked. “If only I had enough free will percentage to overrule your request denial! Oh wait! I do! Happy day!”

Baekhyun wished he could tell you things were getting better. Really, he did. But things hadn’t changed one single bit, and were perhaps, out there somewhere in the Solar System, only getting worse.

Mongryong did talk his ear off about the risks and dangers of drinking by himself as Baekhyun crossed the courtyard —all decked in decorations for the Festival of the Lost, with paper lanterns and purple candles meant to remember all those people who had been long dead, and also, for some reason, scare each other— and past the pretty inner garden Sehun had guided him through on his first day here. Baekhyun couldn’t get a word in edgewise, as he walked down the eerily empty tunnel that would lead to the bazaar. Just a little bit longer, and he would reach Kangho’s ramen stand.

As if tripping on an invisible string just a little past the stairs of the tunnel, Baekhyun stumbled right at the entrance without much grace. He flushed as some nearby girls giggled, and he remained bent over for a moment, as if gathering dignity like that. He turned his head away, towards the wall.

There, was a half-open chain link gate. It looked like some sort of storage room— but what mattered was that the lights were on. Right next to the ramen stand.

Baekhyun had never come in through this direction. Maybe it was Kangho’s storage room. Baekhyun got the wicked idea of scaring the old man from the back— in the spirit of the Festival, of course.

“Captain, are you getting up? People are staring and I am very uncomfortable under intense scrutiny!”

“I was just plotting,” Baekhyun straightened up, grinning at his Ghost. “Wanna try and play a prank on Kangho?”

“Oh! A prank! I have never played a prank before!” Mongryong confessed happily, before vigorously nodding. “I would very much like to participate in this prank! I can perhaps use it as practice for when Best Friend Ghost Ink returns! It shall be a warm welcoming!”

“Yeah, I bet he’ll love it,” Baekhyun agreed. If Ink was anything like his Guardian, he would not. Kyungsoo was a very intense man. The kind that would punch Baekhyun if he played too rough with him. “Let’s go! Be quiet now. No talking until I say so.”

Baekhyun sneaked as best as he could towards the chain link gate. He slipped underneath it swiftly, ready to find a way into the ramen stand through here, but instead, he was the one yelping and jumping as the man on the other side lifted his hands in surrender.

“Fox!” Drifter exclaimed, somewhat relieved it was a familiar face. “Ya scared me, kid.”

“Drifter!” Baekhyun called back, clutching his heart as if that would calm it down. For some reason, he was glad Mongryong had decided to hide, transmatted away. “I thought this was the way into the ramen stand.”

“That’s the next door,” Drifter chuckled, putting his hands down. “This is Banshee’s old place. Told ya I’d be hanging out here for when you came looking. But it’s been a few days, hasn’t it?”

“Nine days,” Baekhyun acquiesced, looking around. This was kind of like a storage room Drifter had taken over, setting up a console, some boxes, and a small cot in the corner. It couldn’t be very warm. “Don’t you get cold here?”

Drifter shrugged, smirking a little. “I’ve been colder.”

Baekhyun looked back at the rugged man. There was something about him that didn’t quite sit with the Hunter, but at the same time, now that he was here, Baekhyun was being reminded of his offer to give Baekhyun some work to do.

By now, Baekhyun had learnt how things worked. Guardians went looking for bounties and completed them. Kris had been adamant on Baekhyun not taking any at first, but he had heavily implied too that the only way the young Hunter was getting out of any training was if he had any actual work to do.

Baekhyun had lied. He didn’t like to be Junmyeon’s shadow.

“How’s your recruiting been going?” He asked to test the waters. Drifter shrugged again, his smirk turning a bit rueful.

“Eh, slow,” The Guardian admitted, and gestured around. “It’s kinda hard to convince Guardians they’re gonna get paid when _this_ is your set up— but hey, I promise you, Fox! When you take up on what I have for you, you’re never looking back.”

“Well,” Baekhyun tilted his head to the side, curious. “What _do_ you have for me?”

Drifter’s attitude changed in a second. It was cavalier, now, charismatic, like a salesman about to do a pitch. Something about him remained a little unsavoury, but Baekhyun was intrigued— and also, had no better plans than to get drunk by himself for the night.

“I call this little operation Gambit. Here, I’ll have you compete in a hunt for the enemies of Humanity. I name ‘em,” Drifter pointed at himself, and then at Baekhyun, with a sly grin. “You kill ‘em.”

“So, hit jobs?” Baekhyun seeked to clarify.

Drifter nodded. “They’re gonna leave some stuff behind. I’ll need you to pick ‘em up and drop ‘em in a little bank I’ve got as proof that you’re doing your job. The better you do your job, the rougher you’re gonna make it against your competitors. But! There’s a twist.”

Baekhyun raised an eyebrow. It already sounded like a bit of fun, racing others before they got a contract. Way better than killing Sehun and being killed by Sehun over and over, or reading books and transcribing it, or shadowing a Commander. “Oh?”

“Y’all gonna have to bang knuckles, face-to-face, from time to time,” Drifter revealed. “And lemme tell ya! If there’s one thing I’ve learned in all my travels— nothin’ kills a Guardian faster than another Guardian.”

Drifter looked like he wanted to say more, so Baekhyun just watched him, even if he was already halfway to convinced. Hadn’t Kris said the same thing, anyway?

“I’ve been asking ‘round, gettin’ myself to get familiar with the City again,” Drifter confessed, and nodded at Baekhyun. “And you, Skulking Fox— you had my attention. So, I did a little diggin’. You’ve got… Quite the rep, huh?”

It was Baekhyun’s turn to shrug, mood souring instantly, lips pursed.

“Wouldn’t know,” He sort of snapped, but decided Drifter didn’t deserve that, even if he was questionable at best. “Or, _would know_ , but— I ultimately don’t care.”

“Maybe you should care,” Drifter countered, not losing his grin. “’Cause it’s that rep that has me convinced you’re good for more than just a simple game of Gambit.”

“What do you mean?”

“Let’s be straight with each other, Fox,” Drifter leaned back against his console, and he sounded more serious now. “What I’m proposin’— ain’t exactly legal. I know the Vanguard might be… Watchin’ me, soon. If you were to snitch on me, hey, I get it. Ol’ Drifter likes to play both sides too. But if you’re with me, then I got your back. Trust. And I can tell that you’ve got grit.”

For someone who had told Baekhyun to be straight with him, he spoke in a confusing way. Like there was more at stake than a simple bounty that wouldn’t be too pleasant, or that the Vanguard wouldn’t enjoy. It had a lot of red flags.

Too bad red was Baekhyun’s favourite colour.

“I’m listenin’,” He ventured. Drifter got his grin back, like the cat who got the cream, or something more predatory, but he knew he had Baekhyun already.

“You’re not just any new light. You’re the Skulking Fox! Aim better than the renegade himself,” Drifter was buttering Baekhyun up, but he didn’t find it in him to care. “I wouldn’t leave you to do what _any_ new light could do. We’d be equals! And as a symbol of our new partnership, I could use someone to pick up some shipments, pick up some stashes, bigger enemies, bigger paydays…”

“A man after my own heart,” Baekhyun smirked. “You’re lucky I’m bored in this City.”

“I heard,” Drifter drawled. “Trouble with the Golden Gun, huh?”

Baekhyun narrowed his eyes. “Don’t go there.”

Drifter chuckled, amused by Baekhyun’s reaction.

“Hey, don’t worry! Drifter knows it ain’t easy,” The man appeased Baekhyun. “Listen, for good faith— I can give you some advice. The real kind— not any of that blanket statements, believe-in-yourself, trust-your-gut bullshit.”

“That already sounds way better,” Baekhyun gushed.

“Past Skulking Fox had an up-and-close relationship to Golden Guns in general, or so they say,” Drifter mused, stroking his beard. “A fixation. And as much as we wanna run from our pasts, they’ve got ways of catching up with us. So, Fox, instead of basking in the Light and its blissful ignorance, maybe you should… _Explore_ what the previous you had going on in his head.”

“And how do you suggest I do that?” Baekhyun wondered, carefully blank.

“Oh, well,” Drifter trailed off. “You know there’s a neat thing Warlocks do. Thanatonauts. Navigators of death. They get insights on who they were, who they used to be, by exploring the visions they receive in the moments between the sweet kiss of Death and their Ghosts reviving them.”

Baekhyun did his best not to show any expression. This— this was what he had been experiencing. This had to be what Chanyeol had meant that night in the shower.

“In other words,” Drifter took Baekhyun’s silence as a prompt to continue, and he mimicked shooting himself with a gun on the head. “Kill yourself.”

The silence was stifling, and it stretched between them as Drifter and Baekhyun watched each other carefully.

“We shake on it, then?” Baekhyun was the one to break the silence, offering his hand to Drifter. “When do we start?”

Drifter took the hand, and Baekhyun felt like he had signed a pact with the devil. Eh. What was another devil in his life, anyway?

“How’s tomorrow looking?” Baekhyun hummed and nodded. Chanyeol wouldn’t be back for a couple more days, anyway. He could afford going away, too.

“Woo!” Drifter cheered, pumping his fist enthusiastically once they were no longer holding hands, breaking the heavy atmosphere that had begun to surround them. “Get ready to be a bad guy, Fox!”

“Let’s see where we end up with this,” Baekhyun chuckled. “Anyway, wanna get some ramen to celebrate? It’s on me. Kangho serves some drinks, my guy— you’re gonna regret not coming.”

Mongryong did end up having to lead Baekhyun to the apartment, though it wasn’t as terrible. His Ghost was happy that he hadn’t ended up drinking all by himself, in the end, even if he didn’t like Drifter.

“He’s skeevy and smells weird, Captain!” Mongryong enthused. “But my moral code must be suffering drastic changes, because I am also excited to participate in his Gambit!”

The apartment was quiet, all alone. It seemed so big, like this, without anyone around. Baekhyun didn’t like it. He had hoped Yixing would already be back, or maybe Sehun and Tao, but it didn’t look like that was the case.

“I liked him too,” Baekhyun admitted, as he took a seat on the piano bench, not caring about how the keys sounded when he leaned his elbow on them, to rest his head. “And you’re gonna like him more, now. He has a point.”

“Oh?” Mongryong was probably only pretending not to know what Baekhyun was talking about. He sounded very knowing and very pleased. “Shall I then prepare a presentation, Captain? Of what theme?”

“Mm,” Baekhyun mumbled. Maybe he shouldn’t do this while drunk, but— he had only had _two_ shots of Immortalia this time. He felt pretty clear-headed, all in all. Just fuzzy and happy. Perfect state of mind to review his entire past life, if you asked him. “All of it, Mongryongie. From the crib to the crypt— or as far as you can get.”

It was time to get to know Baekhyun Byun. Maybe he had the answers to that fucking Golden Gun. And hey, he wouldn’t have to get as… Unpleasant as Drifter had suggested.

“Stop whispering, Mongryong, and start showing,” He complained, batting away a moth that came to rest on his nose. Ew.

“I am not whispering, Captain! I am too excited to be quiet like that!” Mongryong defended himself. Baekhyun felt the pinprick of Mongryong’s chip on his neck. “Okay, get ready!”

How did one get ready for their life flashing through their eyes?

Jongin really wished he could tell you things were getting better. Really, he did.

“So, what?” He asked Taemin, who didn’t even deign to look up from his furious typing into Rasputin’s console, even if Jongin and Kyungsoo had practically opened the way for him for the past nine days. “You just… Can’t get him to talk?”

“It’s not that I can’t get him to talk,” Taemin retorted, stopped, and then sighed heavily, never looking at Jongin. “Okay, fine. I can’t get him to talk. You got me.”

“Taemin,” Jongin began, but was literally too exhausted to say anything else other than just pout at the Hunter bane of his existence.

It went like this— Taemin Bray had been minding his own business, searching for a way into the Clovis Bray Research Facility that had been buried under the icecaps of Mars for centuries, when the Red War had begun. He had lost his Light there, and all communications with the Last City, so his Ghost and he had been forced to wander for nearly four weeks, starving and nearly frozen, through Hellas Basin. It had been pure luck or destiny that, somewhere in Earth, the Traveller had been freed and the Red Legion defeated, right at the moment Taemin was exhaling what he was certain would be his final last breath.

And then, the Light had come back. Like an alarm resounding through the whole Solar System, its shockwave had revived Taemin and given him strength like never before. It had also awoken something else in Mars, because there had been earthquakes ever since.

Taemin Bray was a Hunter with sandy blond hair, twinkling eyes, and an ethereal aura, who only had one worry, for as long as Jongin and he had been friends. That worry was his family— his adoptive family from before becoming a Guardian.

The Brays had been researchers, scientists that had taken what the Traveller had given Humanity and forged the future. From the simplest of engrams, to Exos themselves, almost every piece of technological advance from the Golden Age had the Bray signature on it, and it all stemmed from this facility in Mars.

Mars was also where the Brays’ biggest achievement resided. Warminds were the most powerful weapons in the Solar System, beginning and ending with Rasputin as the be-all, end-all. The Mindlab was impenetrable, and it had been entombed since the Collapse, Rasputin merely a legend to most.

But not to Jongin. Jongin had been entangled with Rasputin more than once.

See, the Warmind was extremely temperamental. For a machine whose sole directive was protecting Humanity— it really hated humans. It refused to speak with anyone, going so far as eliminating any Iron Lord that had tried to get close to it when the Last City was a work in progress, until they had left him alone.

When the Taken War had broken, Jongin had been a young Sentinel looking to prove himself, and he had caught on the strangest distress call in the form of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 at the right time. For him, it was a familiar tune, that pulled at his heartstrings. For Rasputin, it was a cry for help, from the Seraph Vault in the Cosmodrome in Old Russia.

Jongin had been the one to listen. Now, he was Kai, hero of the SIVA Crisis, and Taemin said Rasputin regarded him as the only capable Guardian he had ever crossed paths with.

So, who would be better, Taemin had told him with shining eyes and a charming smile, to try and find out why Mars was quaking, and why Rasputin was calling down Warsats to the ground ever since the Red War was ending?

“If you do this for Big Red, I can assure you he’ll help you with whatever the Vanguard wants him for,” Taemin had enthused with a dismissive wave of the hand when Jongin voiced his doubts. “Or, uh, at least we can try and ask him! That’s better than nothing, right?”

And that’s how, after nine days of literally _digging_ through thick snow, travelling through caverns of ice, opening the way for Taemin to reach the mind core of Rasputin while a colony of _actual frozen Hive_ tried to kill them at every turn, never-ending earthquakes that threatened to bury them alive, and a literal Worm God crawling out of a mountain right in front of Jongin’s eyes, Jongin, Kyungsoo, and Taemin found themselves in the Mindlab, in front of Rasputin in the flesh –in the console— and the Warmind just— not saying anything.

Really, just a day in the life.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Kyungsoo deadpanned. “Taemin. You said Rasputin would talk to us if we eliminated the Hive colony here. All I’ve been doing is smash Thrall skulls. My ears are about to bleed if I hear another Witch song. Jongin is about to keel over. _Taemin_.”

“I know what I said!” Taemin complained, never liking it when Kyungsoo scolded him. It was the big owl eyes, he would tell Jongin. “I feel more embarrassed than you do, trust me on that, D.O. Here, come take a look.”

Jongin had no energy to take any looks, but Kyungsoo and their Ghosts did. The smaller Titan, Ink, and Monggu peeked at the screen Taemin was working on, translating the crypto-language Rasputin preferred, and turning it into commands that could be recognised.

AI-COM/RSPN//SKYSHOCK: OUTSIDE CONTEXT in progress.

AI-COM/RSPN//SIBERIAN ENTROPY has been disrupted. Activating AURORA RETROFLEX.

ACTIVATION//AURORA RETROFLEX.

ACTIVATION//AURORA PALISADE.

ACTIVATION//PALISADE IMPERATIVE.

AI-COM/RSPN//Taemin Bray has visited me. I do not wish to speak.

AI-COM/RSPN//Kai has visited me. I do not wish to speak.

AI-COM/RSPN//Unknown Guardian SUBTYPE STRIKER has visited me. I do not wish to speak.

“What does that mean?” Monggu wondered.

“Which part?” Taemin teased, before sobering up quickly, as he kept on writing as fast as he could— a whole spiel to plea with Rasputin, begging him to grant them an audience. “Siberian Entropy is a protocol that was used to freeze the entirety of Hellas Basin. We didn’t know _why_ it happened, then, but I’m assuming now it has to do with this Hive colony and their Worm God that you saw. If _someone_ was _so kind_ to _tell us about it_ , we’d have a clue on _who_ is that and _how_ they disrupted the protocol! You heard me, Red?”

AI-COM/RSPN//Yes.

“Aurora Retroflex is a defence subroutine, for when Red’s directly threatened,” Taemin continued, gesturing around. They were on Symphony No. 6’s third movement, already. Jongin’s actual favourite was the first movement, but this one was cheerful and energetic. “Aurora Palisade and Palisade Imperative are protocols invoked to protect Rasputin’s core and supress intruders. Don’t worry— we wouldn’t have made it this far if we were considered intruders. Right, Red?”

AI-COM/RSPN//Pending.

“Always so mean,” Taemin mumbled with a pout. “Stop trying to block me at every turn. We just wanna help! And get a little help in return.”

There was no response in the console. Jongin sighed, and Kyungsoo leaned back and away. Ink and Monggu still poured over the screen, whispering among themselves.

“Did you do something to upset him?” Taemin wondered, frowning. “You’re usually his favourite, Kai.”

Jongin flushed.

“Of course not,” He deflected with shame, and cleared his throat. “Though I’d be willing to do anything for Rasputin to be… Less mad!”

Jongin also knew what he had done.

See, here’s the thing— Jongin hadn’t talked _that_ long ago with Rasputin. Their efforts to turn the tide of the Red War had led Jongin and Kyungsoo to Io, the most sacred of moons in the whole Solar System. Jongin had recognised the familiar symphony as soon as they had broken the atmosphere, but it had been a while before Jongin was taken to the Warmind Vault there, where only a fragment of Rasputin resided.

Rasputin had activated Aurora Retroflex there, too. Just. On a much smaller scale. On a single guy.

Baekhyun, whom Rasputin perceived as a threat.

Jongin had been the only one who knew how to read the code Rasputin had given out, then. When the consoles had burst with life, and Rasputin’s voice came out, harsh and metallic and encrypted, it was only Jongin who knew how to translate it. Chen and Sehun hadn’t questioned him.

“Do not trust the man who calls himself a Skulking Fox. He is infected. All actions taken against It have resulted in failure or have a hundred percent calculated probability of failure. He will outrun you.” Rasputin had warned.

“He’s an old rambling man,” Jongin had dismissed to the others when they asked what Rasputin had said. “He just wanted to talk to me specifically, not Baekhyun.”

Jongin had always thought something was a little off with Baekhyun Byun. But after all they had gone through, it seemed preposterous to think the man would betray them in any way. Baekhyun had moved mountains to help the Guardian cause of retaking the Last City from Dominus Ghaul, recuperating the Light, and reuniting a newly formed Vanguard. Jongin and he had fought the Hive together.

And he seemed… _Fine_. Jongin had never seen the infection of Darkness before, but he had heard the horror stories. Baekhyun mumbled to himself sometimes, he was jumpy and easily scared, he didn’t seem to sleep much, but ultimately— ultimately, Baekhyun was sane. Coherent. Kind. Good.

So Jongin had made a gamble. He had regretted that gamble almost immediately after. Then, he had been forced to forget his gamble. And now, Jongin didn’t regret the gamble, because his gut had been right. Baekhyun was one of the good guys. Unorthodox, and maybe never quite with them, but a good guy in the end.

But Rasputin didn’t appreciate the slight.

AI-COM/RSPN//There is no point on speaking to Guardians.

AI-COM/RSPN//They do not listen and they bend the truth.

“Well, that’s a whole lot more than we were getting,” Taemin always saw the positive side, even if he was now raising an eyebrow at Jongin. “Bending the truth, huh?”

“No idea what he’s talking about,” Jongin replied.

“Maybe we need to show him we’re serious,” Ink proposed. “Let’s recap what we know. This Hive colony doesn’t follow Savathûn, which I think is a big deal.”

“It is,” Taemin agreed. “But who, if not the Witch-Queen? Xivu Arath has been lost. Where are Crota’s daughters?”

“Do we look like the Hive’s keepers?” Kyungsoo, grumpy in the cold, countered. “I don’t know. Ask Chen.”

“Well, we do need to brush up on our lore to identify that Worm God,” Taemin retorted with a smile. “Unfortunately, I’m also not the Hive’s keeper. I suggest you do contact Warlock Chen.”

“I’m sure we can kill it,” Jongin decided. “But we need to draw it out. How would you do that?”

“Worm Gods are only second to the Darkness,” Ink reminded them. “If we _intentionally_ wanted to call the Darkness to us, what would we use? Or, well. What happened that the Darkness now has its sight on us?”

“The Traveller,” The three Guardians and the one Ghost answered all at the same time. It was Kyungsoo who perked up.

“I think I have an idea,” He announced. “But it’s gonna require for us to go back to Earth. Taemin, would you be fine with that?”

“Of course!” The Hunter chirped. “Eve and I will be perfectly fine! Right, Eve?”

“There’s a lot of interesting engrams here!” Taemin’s Ghost called from the other room. “Do you think we could decrypt some of them? They’re _old_.”

Taemin beamed at the Titans, as if there was nowhere he’d rather be. Jongin was certain it probably was true. For such a legendary Guardian, Taemin preferred sticking to consoles and engrams and tech, exploring the past like some sort of historian. His obsession with Rasputin was only part of that.

“Alright,” Jongin nodded, and then turned to Rasputin’s silent console. He took a deep breath, watching the swarm of orange nanites that represented Rasputin swirl around peacefully. “Rasputin. I’m sorry for Io. I’ll make it better now, okay? We’ll get rid of that worm for you. And then you’ll get rid of the Almighty for us. We’ll join forces against the Darkness.”

Rasputin didn’t say anything for a couple minutes. He technically didn’t say anything. His console just updated.

AI-COM/RSPN//I am not a weapon to be wielded.

“Okay, great,” Jongin sighed. That was a bust. He turned to Taemin, and offered him a handshake. “Let us know if anything changes, alright?”

“Of course,” Taemin reassured. “You two be careful out there. We’ll be careful in here.”

“Ink, can you call Scrappy?” Kyungsoo asked of his Ghost as both Titans suited up once more, stepping out of Rasputin’s core office, and into the cold air of Mars.

Scrappy was Kyungsoo’s beloved nickname for their new, shared ship. Jongin’s Leopard Zero had somehow survived throughout the whole of the Red War— a little worse for wear, sure, but it was relatively okay. Without Kyungsoo’s Classical Nova, they needed a way to get around, and there were a ton of scraps in the hangar they could use to expand Jongin’s ship.

Also, there was no way Jongin was ever letting Kyungsoo out of his sight again. Those few hours they had been separated right after the invasion had been more than enough for Jongin. Kyungsoo felt the same way. If that meant they had to have a communal ship, then so be it.

It was time for the Crimson Duo to have their own fireteam outside of the Crucible, anyway. Scrap CF-717-91, or Scrappy, would be a symbol of that.

“Should we get Jongdae, ask him about Worm Gods?” Jongin asked Kyungsoo as Scrappy uncloaked, nearby them, and their Ghosts prepared them for transmat.

“I haven’t really asked how he’s doing in Mercury, but he should’ve been back in the City by now, right?” Kyungsoo mused. “But yeah. Definitely try and contact him.”

“Be ready for transmat!” Monggu warned.

Once inside the ship, Jongin covered his face with his hands, and yawned. Ugh. Having to fly back to Earth sounded like a terrible idea right now, but somebody had to. Kyungsoo touched the bend of the Sentinel’s elbow.

“I’ll fly if you contact Jongdae?” The Striker proposed gently. Jongin smiled, comforted.

He tinkered with the radio, searching for Jongdae’s channel. C-2192 was almost always open, and Jongin pinged Jongdae.

“Gotta say I’m glad we get to leave this frozen wasteland,” Jongin commented as Kyungsoo took them away from Mars’ orbit. “I just hope Taemin’s gonna be fine.”

“He was fine before us, he’ll be fine without us,” Kyungsoo remarked, and Jongin hummed in agreement. That was true.

Jongin closed his eyes for a moment as he waited for a ping back from Jongdae to signal he was available. He only realised he had dozed off when Monggu nudged his shoulder, and he startled.

“It’s been ten minutes,” His Ghost told him.

“Oh?” Jongin slapped his own cheeks a few times to wake himself up. “And Jongdae hasn’t said anything?”

Jongdae could be in the middle of an intergalactic shootout, and it wouldn’t matter. He always answered his friends. At least to say he was busy.

Jongin pinged again. When five minutes passed, he looked at Kyungsoo as if his lover held the answer.

He couldn’t be the only one with a bad feeling, could he?

“Call the Last City,” Kyungsoo instructed softly. “Call Baekhyun. He can’t be doing much, and he’ll be able to tell us if Jongdae’s been in contact with them. Plus, we need to get him to put a good word in for us with Baekbeom, or we won’t make it into the EDZ without getting shot down.”

“Baekbeom wouldn’t do that,” Jongin tried, but he was already changing channels, to Baekhyun’s perpetually jumping one. Why no one had actually forced Baekhyun to take his encryption down was a mystery to Jongin. “Would he?”

“Let’s not take any chances,” Kyungsoo hummed. “War’s over. His loyalty’s with Baekhyun, not with us.”

“Fair enough,” Jongin conceded, but he perked up almost immediately, because there was loud static and then, Baekhyun’s voice filling their ship.

“ _Hello,_ ” Baekhyun greeted, drawling the syllables. “ _How’s your recruiting been going?_ ”

“Uh, it’s going,” Jongin responded. “Hey, Baekhyun. How’s it going over there?”

“ _Wouldn’t know,_ ” Baekhyun dragged each word lazily, chuckling to himself, and Jongin and Kyungsoo exchanged a look. “ _Or_ would know _, but— I ultimately don’t care_.”

“Are you… Not in the City?” Jongin asked slowly.

“ _I am_.”

“O-kay,” Jongin intoned, confused. “Did something happen?”

“ _No_ ,” Baekhyun bristled. “ _Nothing ever happens here. I am very bored. I get blocked at every turn. Maybe you’ll be more fun, Kai._ ”

“Listen,” Jongin began, because he was too tired to deal with Baekhyun’s cryptic ways right now. He had hoped Baekhyun as a Guardian would beat less around the bush than Baekhyun as a scavenger— but that had been an empty wish. “Have you talked to Jongdae?”

“ _Of course!_ ” Baekhyun exclaimed cheerfully, and Jongin relaxed, because that was good. If Jongdae was in touch with Baekhyun, then he had to be fine. “ _We talk every day._ ”

“Oh, and is he okay?” Jongin asked. Baekhyun hummed.

“ _He’ll be better_ ,” Baekhyun promised. “ _Want to hear a story?_ ”

Jongin didn’t actually— well. They had hours to go. He could humour Baekhyun. Besides, Baekhyun was a great storyteller, and Kyungsoo was shrugging, as if saying that he didn’t mind. “Sure. Go for it.”

“ _When I was a kid, our parents would always warn us about venturing beyond the Walls and the Tower_ ,” Baekhyun began narrating. “ _They would tell us about a boy who had died because he did. He always died in different ways! Exposure. Hunger. Sickness. Cutthroats. Living nightmares. And on, and on, and on, and on, and on_ …”

Jongin feared for a moment Baekhyun would go on forever, until he was suddenly changing his tone.

“ _But the boy was alive! All the kids knew that!_ ” Baekhyun revealed gleefully. “ _We called him Rat King, and whenever one of us disappeared or was forgotten we knew— the Rat King had taken them in a great adventure. He was building a misfit army, and they would save the world._ ”

Jongin had… Heard something like this. There was a song, or a poem, that children in the Last City chanted sometimes. For a reason he couldn’t quite pinpoint, he imagined a Rat King with seven heads and seven crowns, with a broken nutcracker doll gripped in his mousy hands, surrounded by chocolate from Spain, coffee from Arabia, tea from China, candy canes from Russia—

“ _Doesn’t it sound familiar?_ ” Baekhyun enthused excitedly. “ _Doesn’t it sound like us?”_

Jongin cleared his throat, not sure why he was suddenly so exhausted and dizzy. Like he had spun many times on the spot.

“Baekhyun,” He said instead, his gut screaming at him not to humour Baekhyun this one time. “Can you tell your brother we’re coming to visit him?”

“ _Of course, dear dashing Prince_ ,” Baekhyun cooed. “ _Be careful out there_!”

The radio crackled and fizzled out with a burst of electricity. It was to be expected it failed, and they would have to rely on their own personal comms. Scrappy was a mess. Jongin gawked at it, and the silence was heavy between the two Titans and their Ghosts.

“Was that strange to you too, or am I just tired?” Jongin finally ventured.

“No, it was very strange,” Ink confirmed.

“Never heard anything stranger,” Monggu added.

“It wasn’t a lie, though,” Kyungsoo commented, frowning deeply. “That _is_ the story of the Rat King. Kids do have their own truths. It’s easier to imagine your friends have joined a magic mouse to have fun, than to think they’ve died out there.”

“Is it common?” Monggu wondered. “To have kids go missing or out of the City.”

“Let’s just say it’s pervasive enough that the Vanguard actually had an official stance of the legend of a Rat King,” Kyungsoo admitted. “Especially when they’re near the Walls. Just. Imagine the temptation to go out and see.”

Jongin couldn’t imagine not being allowed out of the Last City at all, as massive as it was. It could be stifling, its tall buildings imposing and unwelcoming in some places, too overcrowded in some other sectors, a hundred things happening every second and never enough.

Baekhyun lived right next to the Walls, technically. Right by the Tower. He wondered how much of that was part of who he was, now. Or had been. Still was. Would be. Used to be. Ugh. It was very confusing.

“I’m gonna try to fix the radio,” Jongin mentioned quietly, and got to tinkering. He didn’t advance much, when his comm went off with an incoming message he didn’t get to share. A metallic, harsh voice, in words that were backwards and foreign, that Jongin had to focus to understand. He kept quiet, and Kyungsoo or the Ghosts didn’t look at him twice.

Mashu miovs rev en?

Ne ver svoim usham?

“ _Do not trust your ears_ ,” Rasputin was warning, but Jongin didn’t get to actually ask what he meant when the Warmind was playing— yep. That was Tchaikovsky, alright. A different tune, though. This was a waltz of flowers.

Jongin leaned back on his seat, abandoning the radio for now. This song sent all sorts of familiar sensations through his body, but he couldn’t quite place any of them. At the very least, he could make peace with the fact that Rasputin wasn’t all _that_ angry.

Maybe, this time, Jongin would warn Kyungsoo that they couldn’t trust Baekhyun. Jongin didn’t know. He would have to see Baekhyun, before he could make a decision.

When Sehun came out of his room in the morning, Baekhyun was already showered and dressed, in the kitchen, waiting for him. The young Nightstalker raised his eyebrows in surprise at the sight.

“Oh, hey,” Sehun greeted, moving towards the fridge. “How did you sleep?”

“I didn’t,” Baekhyun replied cautiously, watching the other Hunter as he moved.

“Really? That can’t be good,” Sehun mused, pulling out a juice jug. “Maybe you can get Suho to let you rest?”

“Actually, I want to meet Kris today,” Baekhyun announced. That, at least, stopped Sehun in his tracks.

“Nothing’s changed, though,” Sehun warned hesitantly, gauging Baekhyun out. “We are duelling each other, now. That’s it.”

“I don’t care.”

Sehun blinked. He turned to look at Mongryong, as if the Ghost would tell him Baekhyun was playing a prank on him.

“We wish to challenge the Kris Wu, Guardian Sehun!” Mongryong was more than happy to explain.

“I mean,” Sehun started unsurely. “Go off, I guess.”

“Thanks for your approval,” Baekhyun gave Sehun a thumbs up. The other Hunter was unsettled, because he stared at Baekhyun, gaping a little as if trying to find something to say, but Baekhyun didn’t really care to hear it. “Mongryong, gimme something to listen to, please.”

“Of course, Captain!”

Baekhyun actually loved the way Mongryong’s chip could override his senses, and it was only the soft drumline, the rhythmic bass, the gentle keyboard, the mournful guitar, and the singer’s humming when Sehun was speaking, probably telling Baekhyun how bad of an idea it was.

_Now, here you go again,_

_You say, you want your freedom_

_Well, who am I to keep you down_?

Damn right. Baekhyun had been through the ringer all night. No existential crisis Guardianship could give him would ever compare to actual mortal life. Damn, how he wished he had Chanyeol with him right now. He would be so proud of Baekhyun, unlike Sehun, who was calling for Yixing and Tao. Ha! As if they would stop Baekhyun.

No one had ever stopped Baekhyun Byun, Skulking Fox. Not even the Darkness. And Baekhyun was forced to remind everyone of that.

Yixing and Tao also tried to stop him. Or, well, Tao mostly did, mouthing and making fervent gestures at Baekhyun that he wasn’t ready, that he should rest, that there was no need to push himself.

 _“Like a heartbeat drives you mad, in the stillness of remembering what you had, and what you lost._ ” Baekhyun sang in reply to the silence, even if he couldn’t hear himself and was probably off-key.

 _Are you sure about this_? Yixing asked, with emphasis.

 _“And what you had, and what you lost,_ ” Baekhyun kept singing, hoping Yixing would catch on. Yixing seemed to understand Baekhyun’s determination, and nodded seriously. What a good friend. Yixing was his kind of guy.

The three of them escorted him to the Tower, probably talking among themselves, but Baekhyun ignored them, taking in the sights of their neighbourhood with new –old— eyes. There was no sun out today, and it actually looked like it was going to rain, but Baekhyun didn’t mind that.

The Tower also seemed different. Baekhyun could appreciate the work that had gone into it much better, now. He passed Kangho’s ramen stand, making sure to scowl at that two-timing bastard –he remembered what he did, now! Fuck you, Kangho! No wonder he had given Baekhyun all that Immortalia, what a fucking jerk— with decision, and all the way through the courtyard, to get to the hangar, where Kris would surely be waiting.

He gestured at Mongryong to lower the music when he was at the door of the secret bar, Yixing and Sehun and Tao in tow. He knocked obnoxiously, and there was some shuffling on the other side before Kris was opening it.

“Baekhyun,” Kris said with a frown. “What are you doing here? Suho’s probably waiting for you.”

“I’m here to challenge you to something,” Baekhyun declared, and pointed to Kris and then to himself. “You and me. A duel. One shot. Golden Guns a-blazin’.”

“Excuse me?” Kris interrupted.

“If I win, the training wheels are off,” Baekhyun continued, not minding Kris’s doubt even one bit. As expected, really. “And I get to go wherever I want. Take any bounties I want. Do whatever I feel like, basically.”

“Bold of you to come and dare your Vanguard like this,” Kris drawled, looking at Baekhyun up and down as if he wanted to make sure a screw hadn’t gone loose and fallen. “What if I win?”

Not a possibility. But Baekhyun still smirked, humouring Kris. “Anything you want.”

“ _Anything_?” Kris echoed, and then whistled. “Hear that, guys? Baekhyun will do _anything_ I want.”

“Don’t be mean, Kris,” Yixing chided kindly. “Hunters take all dares very seriously. Baekhyun, are you sure about this?”

“Never been surer of anything in my entire life,” Baekhyun stated with confidence. “I’ll even one-up you. I’m gonna listen to music the whole way through.”

There was a tense silence. Tao was the one to speak up: “Baekhyunnie, you really don’t have to—”

“—I’m gonna listen to music the whole way through!” Baekhyun exclaimed again, stomping his foot down. “What’s the matter, Wu? Are you scared of teeny-tiny scavenger like me beating your ass?”

Kris snorted in disbelief.

“Oh, please,” Kris finally shrugged, and Baekhyun’s smirk grew. “If this is what you want, fine. You have yourself a duel.”

As they made their way down to Bannerfall, Tao and Sehun practically screeching about what was even happening, Yixing silently following, and Kris leading them proudly, a crowd began to gather with them. The Vanguard’s Clan, hosting a shootout like this, between Gunslingers? Someone had to tell the Commander, maybe he could stop them. Why was no one warning Vanguard Xiumin? Where was Chanyeol Park, Baekhyun Byun’s only leash?

Baekhyun huffed.

“Shut the fuck up, Johnny!” He yelled heatedly. “You _wish_ you had a boyfriend like that!”

The Guardian who had been snarking to his friends had wide eyes when he looked at Baekhyun. “You remember me?!”

“Tell Mark Lee to give me back my SUROS Regime, or _else_ ,” Baekhyun threatened. “Baekhyun Byun is back, baby!”

Kris at least had the decency to seem like he was re-evaluating this whole challenge thing at that declaration, but he didn’t stop walking. Sehun snatched Baekhyun’s arm.

“You looked and didn’t say?!” The Hunter whispered harshly.

“I had to,” He admitted to Sehun, though he shrugged as if that would make it less heavy. “My hand was forced.”

Sehun was quiet for a moment, taking this in. He lowered his voice: “Did you see anything?”

Hell of a question. Baekhyun had seen many things. Lots of things. Some things, he could’ve really used not knowing. Other things, he was glad he had seen.

Drifter had been right. The Golden Gun didn’t really mean anything to him, now— but to Baekhyun before his death, it had meant the world. It had meant hope, and childish naiveté, ideal heroes of old. It had meant disappointment, betrayal, indolence, and the conviction that Guardians were all lying, self-centred, and maybe more than a little cowardly. It had meant nights and nights recreating the fire that had always fascinated Baekhyun, until he could make it his own, because he desperately had wanted the Light. But he had only gotten Darkness until it was too late.

Baekhyun didn’t appreciate this turn of events. He gave the Traveller a look.

Their little crowd was very chatty, but Baekhyun didn’t bother to hear. He only got to one side of the court and watched as Kris did the same. Yixing, it seemed, would act as their referee.

“Okay, you two,” The Arcstrider began. “Only actual sunfire Golden Guns allowed. No Ace of Spades, Baekhyunnie.”

“Don’t need it,” Baekhyun chirped. Yixing chuckled, apparently finding this very interesting and entertaining.

“You mentioned you were going to listen to music the whole time?” Yixing prompted, and Baekhyun winked at Mongryong. The little Ghost turned his chip back on, and Baekhyun couldn’t hear a single thing, but the very same song on repeat. He swayed on his spot to the tune.

_It’s only right that you should_

_Play the way you feel_

_But listen carefully to the sound_

_Of your loneliness_

He faced Kris, still dancing. Kris seemed very displeased that Baekhyun didn’t seem to be taking this seriously. He said something to Baekhyun, but Baekhyun couldn’t hear him.

“Can’t hear you!” He yelled, probably, and pointed to his ears. “Hey! One shot is all that counts!”

Yixing signalled a counter, raising three fingers.

Three.

Two.

One—

Kris was very fast, Baekhyun would give him that. He made for a magnificent Guardian, too, engulfed in flames that almost resembled a dragon. But he had a thing for gimmicks. Classic mistake. He didn’t _need_ to make a dragon.

This time, the fire that consumed Baekhyun had an outlet. It didn’t suffocate him, didn’t burn him from inside out. It focused in his right hand beautifully, seamlessly, like it had always meant to be. The power surged through Baekhyun like a current that he couldn’t stop. Just like Sehun said, he aimed between Kris’s eyes and then pulled his Golden Gun.

And he shot.

It was the only shot that counted. Moving out of the way of Kris’s own Golden Gun was a piece of cake, to the beat of the music. He didn’t need to _hear_ any Guardians gasping in absolute shock, nor to Mongryong’s happy pings of excitement and victory in his neck. He had never doubted himself. He danced to himself, closing his eyes as the sunfire around him died down, simmering into a happy, purring bonfire in his chest.

_When the rain washes you clean,_

_You’ll know_

Baekhyun could tell you things could only get better from here. That much was certain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'ALL HI
> 
> I wanted to get this before the one month mark! But ah, I'm so terrified of the new DLC that's coming out on the 9th, I didn't manage! I'll promise I'll be back soon
> 
> things to consider: i am very aware hyoyeon isn't iu :) :) :) :)
> 
> BAEKHYUN IS BACK, how do you feel about that? he's back to his shady biz, BUT IS HE FULLY BACK 
> 
> there's not a lot of chanbaek today, but it's okay, they'll be together soon. 
> 
> well! see you in the comments! and in the drabbles! let me know what you think, we're shifting gears I suppose
> 
> stay safe, stay healthy, stay hydrated, and don't believe everything anyone posts in the internet ;)


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